7th Sunday of Easter: Year A, 2017

May Christ who glorified God the Father give you eternal life, that is to say, the true and authentic knowledge of God the Father and himself. Happy Sunday + John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Acts 1, 12-14;  1 Peter 4, 13-16; John 17, 1-11a; 7th Sunday of Easter: Year A,  2017)

            The gospel pericope of today is from the so called High Priestly prayer of Jesus. It is an intercessory prayer that has several themes. The focal theme is the nature of the relationship between Jesus and God. Jesus addresses God as Father and refers to himself as the Son: Father, the hour has come, glorify the Son that the Son may glorify you…It was from this Father that Jesus came (v. 3) and to this Father he returns (v. 11a). The glory for which Jesus prays is the glory he shared with his Father before the creation of the world (v. 5). Jesus’ authority came from the Father (v. 2), and he in turn delivered the Father’s word to his disciples (v. 8) and revealed the Father’s name to them (v. 6). Even though in some areas, Jesus appears to be subordinate to his Father, yet they share the same things (v. 10). All said and done the pericope brings to the fore the divine character of Jesus.

 The theme of glorification which Jesus request from the Father is not far afield from the theme of the relationship between them. Jesus possessed this glory before the creation of the world and, as it were, laid it aside temporary as he became man, and now the hour is ripe for him to take it up again. Just as the Father is to glorify the Son, Jesus Christ, the Son has the onus also to glorify the Father. It was by submitting himself to the will of the Father, undergoing his passion and dying on the cross, that Jesus was able to glorify his Father. It is by raising Jesus from death to new life that God the Father glorified Jesus Christ. While on earth, Jesus did not hide his relationship with his Father. He went on his way to reveal the name of the Father to his disciples through the life he lived and the ministry he performed. What is more, by means of the authority he received from God, he was empowered to grant them eternal life by imparting to them true and authentic knowledge about God the Father and about himself whom God sent into the world. Our gospel pericope identifies eternal life as knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. Still in the gospel reading, Jesus indicates that his disciples, though set apart from the world that is antagonistic to God and Christ, are still within the world and exposed to its hostility. He prays the Father, that as he faces death, his disciples should be empowered to continue the work he has begun in this life. The big question is: Will the disciples of Christ, the apostles then and we today’s Christians be able to continue the work Christ has begun? Will we be able to continue the work of glorifying God by following the example of Christ who gave himself up as a sacrifice in loving obedience to the Father? Are we in the position to be veritable witnesses to the life and work of Christ? The liturgy of today seems to answer in the positive, that the disciples of Jesus are equipped, then and now, to continue the work Jesus had started, difficulties, here and there, notwithstanding. They are able to do so on some two counts. One, is by virtue of the knowledge of the Father and the Son they have already, knowledge as Jesus indicates today, in the gospel reading, is tantamount to eternal life. This is not just mere intellectual knowledge but one that is experiential and borne out of mutual relationship. The second reason why the disciple of Jesus will be able to continue his work is on account of the mutual relationship between Jesus and the disciple. The disciple of Jesus time, entered into such relationship with Christ when he responded positively to the call of Jesus to follow him. Since then, the relationship matured and got nurtured day by day. The Christian of today entered into relationship with Christ at his baptism when he was inserted into Christ and thence has been nurturing the relationship by taking up his cross daily and following him. This relationship with Christ is expected to mature and resemble the mutual relationship between the Father and the Son, as Jesus tried to explain in the initial part of his prayer.  It is only when such mutual relationship between Jesus and the disciple is functional that much fruit, especially the glorification of the Father, will be expected therefrom.

The liturgy of today presents some hurdles the Christian/disciple of Christ will have to jump before the expected results. The first one is that the disciple will have to overcome the world that is antagonistic towards God and the things of God. It is in this hostile world of corruption, selfishness, idolatry, greed for money and what money can buy, oppression, etc that the Christian will have to spend some energy not only in working out his salvation but in  continuing the work of Christ. The second obstacle that faces the disciple/Christian is the issue of being ridiculed on account of one’s relationship with Christ. Peter, the Apostle, the author of the second reading holds that the Christians are either defamed for the name of Christ or harassed, even persecuted for being Christians. The passage of the second reading is one of the three instances in the Bible where the followers of Christ are called Christians (Acts 11, 26; 26, 28). While the term marks one as a supporter or follower of Christ, it may well have been intended as a name of scorn.  Although it might be interpreted Messiah follower, (the Christians claimed that the Messiah they followed was a man who has been executed as a felon). To call a person a Christian might have been comparable to calling him felon follower. In the face of this, Peter tells his addressees/audience and us to bear this name proudly and endure any misfortune that might befall them on account of it. What the Christians in Peter’s time suffered is still present in the Nigerian society today. There are parts of Nigeria where you do not get scot free just by indicating that you are a Christian. At least you earn a facial rebuke. Of course, there are parts of our country where you loose your right as a citizen by the mere fact of being a Christian. We take the advice of Peter and at the same time continue the work of Christ which is the enthronement of justice and sacrificial love in the world and in the society.

  But what will help us in the situation where the Christian is handicapped? The liturgy of today, through the first reading, indicates two approaches: authentic Christian witness and community prayer. After the Ascension into heaven the people who gathered in the Upper Room comprised: The eleven who were witnesses to Jesus public life and his resurrection; the women who witnessed his death, burial and resurrection; Mary, the Lord’s mother, the privileged witness of his infancy and hidden life; and other relatives of his. So the first community after the Ascension of Jesus is well qualified to witness to Christ with authority. (Just a pause: since the celebration of Easter some six weeks ago how many times have you borne authentic witness that Christ rose from the dead?) By witnessing as authentic Christians to the resurrection of Christ in our families, places of work and our environments we will be overcoming obstacles that obstruct and impede the glorification of God. What were they doing in the Upper Room: All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer. The community of Upper Room gathered in prayer. We need community, but not only in the ordinary experiences of life. We need a community of believers with whom we can pray, who will understand our spiritual aspirations, support us in our Christian commitment, and challenge us when we stray from the right path. We need a community of believer with whom we shall continue Christ’s work of glorifying God the Father. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye