We are in a waiting room!

We are some of the few people who ever get to hear the Scripture readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, and what wonderful readings they are!

Word of Faith is a weekly break down of this week's scripture readings. Dive deeper into what the Gospel message at Mass will be.

This Thursday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Interestingly, the Diocese of Albany (as part of the New York ecclesiastical province) is one of the few dioceses where the Ascension is still kept on the Thursday of the sixth week of Easter; that is, 40 days after Easter Sunday. In most other dioceses, the Ascension has been transferred to the Seventh Sunday of Easter; that is, this Sunday. So, we are some of the few people who ever get to hear the Scripture readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, and what wonderful readings they are!

We might additionally note that these days, we are, in a sense, in a waiting room. We are in the in-between time of the Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We are also eavesdropping again, as we hear in the Gospel another part of Jesus’ solemn prayer at the Last Supper (John 17:1-11). Jesus’ prayer for his apostles and, of course, for us, may surprise us. Jesus does not pray that we are to be successful, or rich, or happy (although these things are important!). He actually prays for several specific and crucial things, and we should explore them together.

First, he prays about keeping God’s word. Last week, we came across this word “keep.” It is an interesting word (tereson) and loaded with meaning in the Scriptures. As we noted last week, the word is hard to translate, as it does mean “keep,” but it really means to guard or to keep in custody, and it is even used to mean to be engaged (as in being engaged to marry). We might say then that our Lord’s meaning, or at least part of it, is that his disciples (and so, of course, us!) remain faithful to the words of God that we have received, almost like a betrothal. As we heard in the Gospel last week, we are to live in love by keeping his commandments and the commandments, as we saw, are simply summed up in “love.”

One further thought about keeping God’s word. We know that God’s love and His word are always faithful and true. God does not go back on his word, nor his promises! May our love and our word be the same. In the Gospel, Jesus gives thanks that his disciples have “accepted” his word. They have accepted his word, not just along the lines of “Oh, thanks,” but rather that God’s word has lodged in their hearts and therefore becomes who they are. So too with us. With this in mind this weekend, let us remember the newly ordained deacons and priest; that they will accept and be true to God’s word and to the promises that they make as part of the Rite of Ordination.

Jesus also prays that we may have the gift of eternal life. How do we receive this amazing gift? It is that we should know God. Again, we need to pause and reflect on the word “know.” In the original language, the word is “gnosis.” It does mean knowing, as in knowing something (intellectual knowledge), but it really means an awareness or insight: something that is a gift, is personal, is relational and is experiential. That is why Jesus goes on to use phrases such as “they have understood” or “they have believed that you sent me.” Understanding or belief are not just matters for the head, but also for the heart!

In these words of Jesus, we can also see how our hope of eternal life is very much linked to how we live here and now. As one famous theologian put it, our future is now! We are to use the gift of life that God has given to us, with all its ups and downs, opportunities and frustrations, blessings and challenges, by knowing God and keeping God’s word. As we noted, this is not so much an intellectual exercise but rather something relational and personal. Let us not forget prayer. In prayer, we come to know God by opening our hearts to him, so that He may come to us and, in coming to know God, we also come to know ourselves, truly and deeply.

How fortunate we are then to hear Jesus’ prayer in the Gospel this Sunday. He offers us these very practical and very much needed gifts. These gifts are, of course, for the here and now, but they are also to help us prepare for the life to come. As we sit in the waiting room after the celebration of the Ascension and prepare for Pentecost next weekend, let us accept these gifts and, just as importantly, use them.