Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today is the Eve of the feast of the Ascension, and the lectionary includes specific readings to the occasion. Today’s readings begin with the first 20 verses of Psalm 67 (68), which begins thus:

“Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate Him flee from before His face.
As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the sinners perish from the face of God.
And let the righteous be glad;
Let them greatly rejoice before God;
Let them be glad with merriment.”

This psalm contains some potent language that we typologically interpret as prophetic utterances regarding the Christ’s resurrection, his ascension, and a lovely reference to the Mother of God.

In the first place, we know that Christ arising from the dead means victory over our enemies—and we properly understand these enemies to be sin and death. The violence of this imagery speaks to God’s awesome power and wisdom displayed in this total victory.

Second, we read that Christ has “ascended on high” and has “led captivity captive.”’ Jesus has risen up to sit in royal glory at the right had of the Father. His authority is absolute, as Milton waxes:

“His state is Kingly
Thousands at His bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest.”

Third, the psalm says:

“The mountain of God is a fertile mountain.
A mountain richly curdled with milk, a fat mountain…
This is the mountain God consented to dwell in.”

Here a traditional reading understands this as a poetic reference to the Mother of God, who nourished and carried the Son of God until his birth.

This glorious psalm forms part of the energetic Paschal Stichera, sung at Easter in the Orthodox tradition, and is pointed vigorously in the Coverdale translation of the Anglican Psalter with a tune by William Crotch.

Happy Ascension!

—Justin