Contents
Introduction
Depending on their liturgical arrangement and agreement too, for some Catholics, this Sunday is the Ascension Sunday, while for others, it is the Seventh Sunday of the Paschal celebration. Since Nigeria observed the ascension on Thursday, our reflection is on the readings of the seventh Sunday of Easter. For the past three Sundays, John has presented to us different aspects of Jesus. “As a good shepherd, Jesus lays down his life for the sheep because he sincerely cares for them and loves them too; he knows the sheep one after the other. That is, he knows them individually and can always identify them anywhere, everywhere; he carefully.….
Jesus’ farewell speech
Jesus’ farewell speech was a kind of testament/will. According to Dictionaries, testament or will is a legal document declaring a person’s wishes regarding the disposal of his/her property when he/she dies. Having completed his mission on earth, Jesus knows it is time for him to return to his Father. Hence, he declares his will to the disciples. While parents tend to divide their material property among their children as their own will, Jesus had a different understanding of testament. Without unity and proper understanding, parents’ property risk being motive of quarrel and division among their children. Jesus pretends that his disciples be united. They must agree with one another as far as the Gospel is concerned. Unless they are united, the spreading of the Gospel will be compromised. Their unity will be a practical example that they are the disciples of Jesus. As a guarantee for their unity, Jesus asked the Father to be the origin and the initiator of such unity. He should make the disciples united just as they are united (Jesus and the Father). This is his farewell speech. This is his wish.
Conclusion
When Jesus prays that the disciples be one, he does not mean nor expect them to seek for the unity. They are not to achieve it because it is already given to them. Jesus does not mean they should ‘become one.’ This would imply the disciples struggling to achieve the unity. What he means is that they should ‘continue to be one.’ They should continue in the same oneness between he and the Father, and which the disciples have witnessed. In fact, Christians are not asked to become one; they are already one and are expected to maintain it. Just as Jesus and the Father are one, so also should Christians be one. It is not just the unity of organization, but of purpose. It is togetherness in view of their mission. It is objectivity in assigning positions in the Church and in the various organizations (cf. First Reading). It is only on the basis of such unity that the Gospel can flourish. This arouses series of interrogations.….
FOR DETAILS, GET YOUR OWN COPIES OF THE BOOK “THE WORD OF LIFE: SUNDAY REFLECTIONS” (vols. I and II)!! The reflection for the SEVENTH Sunday of Pascha (B) is found in vol. II pages 222–228. Happy reading!
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