7th Sunday of Easter Year

Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 John 4: 11-16 and John 17:11b-19

 “Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying, “ Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one”(John 17:11b).

Today we march into the last but one Sunday of Easter and the last Sunday before Pentecost. There is no better day to read the Gospel passage where, our Lord Jesus Christ was seen praying to God the Father in a very exceptional way. This is traditionally known as the priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. The highlight of his prayer was the need for his disciples (which includes all of us) to be one as he is one with the Father. “

But why was that supplication very important to our Lord Jesus Christ? Why was he wishing that they all be one? We need to note that Jesus was preparing his disciples for the Post Ascension or Pre- Pentecost periods of evangelization and demands of discipleship so it is relevant that he considers what will become of the Disciples and the Church after Jesus’ Ascension to the Father? Today’s readings are in this sense very relevant to us today who presently live in a broken world, plague with wars, and all kinds of divisions,

discriminations on the streets, offices, places of work and even in  places of worship.

One of the easiest ways towards destruction and failure in life is through disunity. This can be seen in families, communities and nations. It is often said: “together we stand but divided we fall.” So, Our Lord Jesus Christ thus prayed for Oneness so that his disciples can get to that level of being ONE in word and action. If we read the preceding verse 11a of this 17th chapter of John, Jesus wishes are expressed, “And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father keep them in your name…”

Jesus himself was in deep union with his Father throughout his ministry. He remains with him. His Ascension was the work of the Father, who lifted him up. He knew the journey was not always going to be easy for his disciple and church.  The more reasons in his High Priestly Prayer of today’s Gospel he committed our well-being and faith into God’s hands. He wants us to remain with the Father and stick around in love and unity with one another. He prayed that through the gift of the Holy Spirit each of us may be brought into that kind of deep union and friendship that he had shared with God His Father.

In the Oneness that bring about unity, every part is very important though not indispensable. We can see this from the account of the First Reading (Acts 1: 15-17.20a. 20c-26) where the position of Judas Iscariot had to be filled with another after his infamous act of betrayal of the master and suicide. That position or part of the apostolic college needed to be taken by another person who is qualified to fill it. We can see that the position was important but the person of Judas was not indispensable. Matthias took the position and made up the deficiency of a missing part.

The Second Reading (1 John 4:11-16) tells us about the phenomenon that should actually bind the various parts that make up the oneness. The phenomenon in question is love. The apostle John advised that as God so loved us we should love one another. What this means is that we cannot achieve Oneness nay, unity, if we fail to love. Love thus becomes the adhesive that holds and sustains the unity and oneness that our Lord Jesus Christ prayed for.

Besides faith, hope and love, stressed in the 2nd reading, prayer and openness for the guidance of the Holy Spirit are key principles for true discipleship. The union of the disciples and the church can be achieved through incessant prayer, even in making choices or key decision like the selection of Matthias to replace Judas who had betrayed Christ and gone his way. In doing this we are told in the 1st reading, the church prayed and said:

“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two (Judas called Barsabbas and Matthias) you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas has turned away to go to his own place.”

How many of us have not turned away once in a while or tempted to do so from the teachings of the Church, from the teachings of the Holy Scripture from our faith tradition, from the teachings of Christ, love, charity, peace, serenity, gentleness, humility forgiveness, unity, “do to others what you would want don to you” (matt 7:12) and sometimes go our own way. With prayer everything is possible.  With prayer we can make a U-turn back to Christ. With prayer we can remain with him.

 Prior to our decisions and choice making, be it that of the college to go to, a particular doctor to visit, suggestions to make at family and executive meetings, which mass to attend or what menu to choose from, a particular book to read, movie to watch or friends to hang out with, at the United Nations, cabinet meetings, parish councils, diocesan senates, we want to pray, we want to always consult our advocate; counselor, the Holy Spirit, through prayers.

At this Mass, remember this is our upper Room, let us re-dedicate our life’s mysteries into God’s hands. Let us imitate our Mother Mary and the apostles, who prayed before Matthias was selected, who kept the faith, who waited patiently and prayerfully united for the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, come next Sunday. As we march into the last but one Sunday of Easter and the last Sunday before Pentecost, let us be conscious of the fact that without Oneness we have not future, without unity we fall apart, without being in one accord the coming of the Holy Spirit and the impartation of His gifts and fruits will elude us. Now is the time to mend the fences disunity, now is the time to allow love love to mould us and make us one.

However, it is important to note that while we wait and prepare for Christ to return, we are not supposed to remain idle or gaze endlessly like the apostles did at the scene of the ascension before they were awaken to consciousness. Instead we are expected to live productive lives. This is the why both our second reading and Gospel reminds us of our missionary vocation. So while we wait for the return of Christ, we have to make effort to fulfill this call and vocation by living appropriately. Paul tells us the best way to do this: “Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness and in patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the spirit by the peace that binds you together.” Brothers, this is what we are supposed to be doing rather than remain idle in the name of waiting for the Lord. He must not find us idle and, we must have enough souls to present to him when he returns.

Brethrens, rather than stand idle and gaze endlessly, we have to strive to carry out this missionary calling given to us by Christ in our gospel: “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news to all creation…” As Christ evangelized and commissioned us, it is now our duty to evangelize our brethrens. Are we going to fail them and Christ? Surely, we cannot afford to fail them! So let us leave this idle and gazing point and become more active in our ministries. Through our baptism, each one of us belongs to a ministry either as an apostle, a pastor, an evangelist, or a teacher. Finally as we rejoice today that Christ has ascended into heaven and, that one day he will return to take us with him, let us strive to fulfill our missionary calling. This is what will qualify us to be where he is. Finally, together with the psalmist let us acclaim the Lord: “God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.”Alleluia, alleluia!