Deacon Tom Anthony

Seventh Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 59

Reading 1 Acts 1:12-14

After Jesus had been taken up to heaven the apostles
returned to Jerusalem
from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem,
a sabbath day's journey away.

When they entered the city
they went to the upper room where they were staying,
Peter and John and James and Andrew,
Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,
James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot,
and Judas son of James.
All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women,
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:1, 4, 7-8

R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek:
to dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 2 1 Pt 4:13-16

Beloved:
Rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ,
so that when his glory is revealed
you may also rejoice exultantly.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
But let no one among you be made to suffer
as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer.
But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed
but glorify God because of the name.

Alleluia Cf. Jn 14:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord.
I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
"Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

"I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you."

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 We have been commissioned by Christ to build up His Kingdom here on this earth and spread the Good News of Salvation through Him. As long as we keep this focus and acknowledge what we have to do as Children of God, our lives will immediately take on a new meaning. We will also be able to permit the Grace of God to enter our hearts and transform us all the more. This has all been offered to us through Jesus Christ. He has claimed us as His own and with that we have the privilege of being called His children.

Throughout The Easter Season we have been reading almost exclusively from the Gospel of John. Through these readings, we have learned more about the relationship that we have with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Love of God which is the Holy Spirit. We are continuously invited into the relationship of the Trinity and, regardless of how many times we try to break away from it through our sinful actions and thoughts, we can never escape it. Just as mother has a natural bond with her children, so too does God have the same with us. Under everything else that might cloud or distort that relationship through the interference of the evil allures of this world, there is a foundation of love. Our minds at times might corrupt us into thinking otherwise, but there is love within all of us that originates from God. Depending on the person, it may be buried deep within layers of muck and grime, distorted beyond recognition through the wreckage of darkness, but it is still there. To discover it, one must recognize it and start digging.

Jesus told us that He remains in us as we remain in Him. Because of this, because He ascended into heaven, we were also taken up. We are above this world and everything that dwells within it. We have achieved a higher spiritual state of being through this relationship. We just need to take the time to explore it. Jesus further reveals to us that we were given to him by the Father. This is a description of our relationship within the Trinity. We are watched over, protected, and guided by Christ under the loving presence of the Father. Jesus is at once our Father, brother, lover, and friend.

So, where do we go from here? We all should read these words and as Christians take them to heart. We then must contemplate them and, just as the Apostles and disciples did before us, pray. Prayer is the proper response to revelation and understanding. Prayer pushes everything else aside where only we and Jesus Christ remain. When we react in this manner, then more revelation and understanding will follow. It is an acknowledgement of the most important relationship in our existence. We naturally become closer to our Creator and feel His presence. Even when life overwhelms us, prayer will overcome this state and lift us up above it. Just as Jesus Christ is eternal with no beginning and end, so are we which gives us the capability to defeat anything that challenges us in this physical world.

Anything that causes us grief, anything that causes us pain, is easily defeated through the Love of God. He is our Father and created everything in the universe. Because of this and because of the fact that He is within us, nothing at all can overcome us if only we celebrate that relationship which binds us to Him.

Deacon Tom