7th Sunday of Easter – Acts 1:12-14, 1 Pet. 4:13-16, & Jn. 17:1-11 Following on from our First Reading on Ascension Day the disciples return to “theupper room where they were staying”. Together with the (now) eleven apostles we aretold of the presence also of “several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus andhis brothers”.  Here is the nucleus of the emerging church: a mixture of some of Jesus’relatives and followers. The key point of the Reading is that they “joined in continuousprayer”. In these days between Ascension and Pentecost the Church invites us to atime of prayer, a novena, in which we pray for a renewal of our faith with the coming ofthe Holy Spirit which we will celebrate next Sunday. For people unaccustomed to suffering for our faith today’s Second Reading looksrather daunting. The original recipients of this letter from St Peter did know aboutsuffering for their faith, only too well. The words he offers are meant to be areassurance that holding to their faith is not in vain. They have a share in Christ’s ownsufferings and, like him. they will be vindicated. Perhaps as we listen to this Readingwe might say a prayer for those who in our own time do suffer for their faith. Jesus begins what is often referred to as his “Priestly Prayer” in this final section of thewords he spoke to the disciples at the Last Supper. He is praying that his followers mayhave eternal life which he describes as “to know you, the only true God, and JesusChrist whom you have sent”. Throughout this passage he keeps referring to “beingglorified”. In Hebrew the word for glory is “kabod” and it signifies the presence of Godamong humankind. You will remember, from our celebrations all those months ago atChristmas, that when the angels announce Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, “The glory ofthe Lord shone around them.” God is present wherever glory is to be found, even inourselves, and even now according to what Jesus is saying in this Gospel!

Reflections on theReadings for the 7th Week of Easter

Duccio di Buoninsegn

Tuesday of the 7th Week of Easter – Acts 20:17-27 & Jn. 17:1-11 Several months have gone by in between Paul arriving in Ephesus and today’s incidentin the next chapter of Acts. During his time in Ephesus there had been a riot by thesilversmiths of the city whose trade of making statues of the Greek goddess Artemishad dwindled away because of Paul’s preaching. Paul is hauled before the magistratesand has to defend his actions. He then left to go on to Corinth to check on theproblems that were apparent in that community. Interestingly (remember theselection of Reading for our Lectionary was made by clerics!) we do not hear of anincident where one young man fell asleep during one of Paul’s long sermons and fellout of a second-floor window! Now, however, he on his way back to Israel. The boat heis travelling in puts in at Miletus, the closest he gets to Ephesus on this return journey.Here the leaders (presbyters) of the community at Ephesus have made the journey tomeet him. He now has a very strong inkling that he will face persecution on his return,and he warns the elders that they will not see his face again. In himself, however, he isfine, “… life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish myrace I have carries out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bearwitness to the Good News of God’s grace.” This Paul has done in abundance! Our Gospel today is a repeat of Sunday’s. It is a timely reminder that even as we prayfor the coming of the Holy Spirit Jesus tells us that already, because of knowing him,we are living in “eternal life”.

Monday of the 7th Week of Easter – Acts 19:1-8 & Jn. 16:29-33 Paul is now well into his third (and final) missionary journey and he reaches anothercity that will become one of the key centres of Christianity – Ephesus. There he findspeople who had received baptism at the hands of some former disciples of John theBaptist. It is amazing that all these years – over twenty! – since John’s martyrdom thereare still some of his disciples going around Asia Minor preaching his baptism ofrepentance. It shows us, once again, that even in these early days of the Churchmatters were not all uniform and straightforward. Having laid his hands on thesepeople Paul then spends the next three months building up the whole community inEphesus. The penny seems to have dropped, at last, for the disciples. Now they seem tounderstand Jesus’ words but even so he still warns them of a difficult time ahead, butnot one that will overwhelm them, “In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: Ihave conquered the world.” We recall these words of hope as we continue our prayerfor the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Wednesday of the 7th Week of Easter – Acts 20:28-38 & Jn. 17:11-19 Today we have the final part of Paul’s words to the elders of the church in Ephesus.They had travelled to Miletus to meet Paul when the boat in which he was travellingback to Israel put into that port. Notice that Paul, rather like Jesus at the Last Supper,warns them about difficulties to come. He reminds them just how much he has donefor them, but they are sad to hear that they will not see him again. Dark clouds aregathering for Paul as he completes this third and final missionary journey, as we willfind out in the next few days. Our Gospel Reading also follows on from the extract we heard yesterday. Jesus ispraying to the Father for his disciples who will have to face up to all kinds of problemsand difficulties when he is gone. He asks the Father to, “Consecrate them in the truth;your word is truth.” Remember Jesus has called himself “the Way, the Truth and theLife”. He, and the Word of God (the Scriptures), are to be the foundation of their faithand hope, of our faith and our hope!  Thursday 7th Week of Easter – Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 & Jn. 17:20-26 We really are racing now to the end of the Acts of the Apostles. Between yesterday andtoday Paul has arrived back in Israel, travelled up to Jerusalem, been recognised andarrested while giving testimony in the Temple. (So much has happened it might be anidea to read the intervening chapters for yourself some time.) He has talked to thecrowd explaining what had happened to him. Because he came originally from Tarsus –a Roman city – he is a Roman citizen and has the right of appeal to the Emperor whencharges are brought against him. The Jewish Council – the Sanhedrin – lay theircharges against him before the Roman Tribune and Paul cleverly plays off one factionthe Sadducees (the Temple priests) against his old comrades among the Pharisees. Heis kept under arrest and, with an armed guard to protect him against a Jewish plot tokill him, so he is taken to Caesarea, on the Mediterranean Coast, to the palace of Felix,the Roman Governor of Judaea. This is the final extract from Jesus’ words at the Last Supper. He prays that to hisFather that all who believe, not only the disciples present at the Supper but all thosewho will follow – including ourselves – may be united in our witness, aware that we arealways held in God’s love and that Jesus is with us in the Spirit throughout our journeyof faith. We are never outside or estranged from God’s love, unless we choose to be byour own actions. We remember the saying, “God does not love because we are good,God loves us because God is good!”

Friday of the 7th Week of Easter – Acts 25:13-21 & Jn. 21:15-19

Paul has languished for two years in prison in Caesarea and now a new governor,Festus, has taken up post in Judaea. The Jewish Council wants him to hand over Paulto them. They still plan to murder him once he is in their hands, but Paul stands by hisright, as a Roman citizen, to have his case heard in Rome. Today’s extract from Acts is akind of summary of the situation before Festus sends him off to Rome. 

Christi Himmelfahrt by Gebhard Fugel

Today and tomorrow we have extracts fromthe final chapter of John’s Gospel. Some ofthe disciples have returned to Galilee andhave taken up their old trade of fishing onceagain. The Risen Lord appears to them andin the verses prior to today’s extract Jesushas helped them find a huge catch of fishand has prepared breakfast for them as theyreturn to shore. Now he asks Peter threetimes whether or not Peter loves him. This isnot so much a threefold “yes” to make up forhis threefold denial that he even knew Jesusduring the account of the Passion.

Jesus has already forgiven him. Perhaps it is more that Peter himself need to make thethreefold declaration of love to really feel he has been forgiven. Now he is able to takeover the role of shepherd from the Good Shepherd himself.

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Saturday of the 7th Week of Easter – Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 & Jn.21:20-25

From beginning to end the Acts of the Apostles covers about 30 years. It is a selectionof events which happened in the Early Church. For most of the second half of the bookwe hear about some of Paul’s exploits as he embarks on his missionary journeys. Hisfinal journey is to Rome under some kind of fairly loose form of arrest – at least to beginwith. Although we would like to know many more details of what happened St Lukereaches the end of what he is going to write. Paul has reached “the ends of the earth”in arriving in Rome and the Gospel message continues to be preached, just as Jesuscommanded the disciples to do at his Ascension. These final verses of John’s Gospel draw everything to a close. “The Beloved Disciple”who is mentioned here is usually taken to be John himself and by the sound of thingshe is now dying (or even dead by the time the Gospel is read in the community forwhich it is written). The final words note that much more could have been writtenabout Jesus and what he did but what is contained in the Gospel is sufficient: sufficientto guide the community for which it was written; sufficient to guide us on our ownjourney as disciples.