Seventh Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 61
Reading 1
Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them;”
and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1a and 9a) The Lord is king, the
most high over all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
All gods are prostrate before him.
R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R. The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20
I, John, heard a voice saying to me:
"Behold, I am coming soon.
I bring with me the recompense I will give to each
according to his deeds.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
the beginning and the end."
Blessed are they who wash their robes
so as to have the right to the tree of life
and enter the city through its gates.
"I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.
I am the root and offspring of David,
the bright morning star."
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come."
Let the hearer say, "Come."
Let the one who thirsts come forward,
and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.
The one who gives this testimony says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
Alleluia
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
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed
saying:
"Holy Father, I pray not only for them,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
By loving and following Jesus, we are invited into a relationship with Him which we then lead us to the Father, guided by the Holy Spirit. It is then that we can find ourselves inseparable from the Trinity unless it is by our own choice Through this relationship, certain things are guaranteed to us. We will receive revelation and an understanding of God’s creation that can easily allude those who do not know Jesus. We will also have a higher awareness of His presence in all things and a greater wisdom that goes far beyond the wisdom that has its roots in the physical world. This can bring us comfort in times of distress and fortitude when we need it the most. It can also give us purpose beyond the demands of the physical world that, in their essence, are limited and eventually come to an undramatic end.
Saint Stephen, the first Christian Martyr, was unfazed by his impending death. He even appeared to welcome it as he received a vision of Heaven and Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God. He testified to the divinity of Jesus and pleaded mercy for his persecutors. When we are in right relationship with Jesus, situations are naturally placed into their proper perspective. A level of importance can be assigned to our experiences, where that which is spiritual outweighs things that are of a physical nature. Death itself loses its power. It becomes just a transitional state between this world and the next. What Stephen was seeing lay beyond that which can be seen by the human eye. It was a glimpse into the mystical side of the Church and the spiritual realm which awaits us all as believers. Understanding this truth should make us want a relationship with Jesus Christ that He describes in His prayer to God. It is through welcoming Jesus into our hearts that we get to know God and experience His love. Being loved by and loving God then transform us into the person that He wanted us to be.
When we are born, we are arguably in a state of perfection. That moment when we enter the world, we are innocent and undefiled. Totally dependent on another for survival, we don’t yet have the option to exercise our own free will. This would come about later when we finally discover that we can make choices When these choices do not include realization of the presence of God, they usually bring us to the wrong place. Disappointment and failure result. The absence of God in our lives means He is absent from His creation, which can only lead to bad things. This is why Jesus made it a point to ask that all who believe may be one in spirit, inseparable from each other. This leads to a communal spirit and a central focus, which further means a building up of the Kingdom of God. It is strength in unity and an understanding that being divided or separated from the body means defeat. Just like a sheep separated from the flock puts it in danger, we too can find ourselves in peril if we separate ourselves from the one who created us and His community.
It is through community, the Body of Christ, that strength, love, and purpose are realized. We are social creatures by our nature. Yes, a personal relationship is also necessary with God, but the body cannot function properly without all of its parts, while the parts cannot function properly without their connection to the body. Participation in Christian Living is necessary to get the full experience and the revelation of Jesus. From this comes purpose and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, piety, good counsel, fortitude, and fear of God. These are our weapons against the evils of the world and tools to help build a joyous life.
The status of our relationship with God reflects our own spiritual, mental, and physical condition. If the relationship is weak, then we become weak in these areas. Fragility may only manifest itself in one area at first, but it will soon spread to the others. Soon, we can find ourselves compromising in small things then, inevitably, these compromises will then enlarge to a point where we lose control. The key is to stay grounded in our relationship. As long as our focus remains on our relationship with God, then our well-being can be assured. With that, we can experience our lives in a way that God intended us to experience it and be prepared for anything that awaits us in the future, in this world and the next
Deacon Tom
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