That They may Be One. 7th Sunday of

Reading 1, Acts 1:12-14, First Peter 4:13-16 , John 17:1-11

THE FULL READINGS

 

One day, Mr. Amadi called his children together because they were always fighting among themselves. Jealousy, anger, and division had entered the family. Mr. Amadi brought out a single broomstick and gave it to the first son. “Break it,” he said. The son broke it easily. He also gave it to the three other sons, they also did the same and broke it.

Then the father tied many broomsticks together into one bundle and gave it to them again. “Now break it.”They tried one after another, but none could break it. Then the old man said:

“A single stick breaks easily, but when many sticks remain united, they become strong. If you continue to hate one another, outsiders will destroy you. But if you remain one, no storm will overcome you.”

This simple story reflects the heart of today’s Gospel.

In John 17:1-11, Jesus is praying to the Father shortly before His Passion and death. This chapter is often called the “High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus. These are among the last words of Jesus before He goes to Calvary. And what is He praying for?

Unity.
Oneness.
Faithfulness.
Love.

Jesus says:

“Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.”

This prayer reveals something very deep. Before Jesus suffered, before the Cross, before His death, His greatest concern was not power, wealth, or success. His concern was that His followers would remain united. The Question you have to ask yourself today is “are you one with others or divided?

 

The Mystery of One.

One is the only number that cannot be divided by another number. One then connotes  indivisibility, closeness and unity.

 

The readings of today, especially the first reading and the gospel centered mainly on the oneness that exists among the apostles, the oneness that exists between  Jesus and the Father and Jesus’ prayer that His disciples will be one. This is how God wants it, this is what truly defines us true followers of Jesus, this is what marks us out from the world. It is obedience to Jesus and the perfect way to eternity. But we have preferred to live otherwise.

 

Unity is sometimes underrated and overlooked as a necessary factor that must exist between two or more people working together, between families, and between communities and christian faithful. When we look at what is happening around us and in our different places of sojourn, we wonder if we truly hearken to this prayer of Jesus.

 

 

With one Heart

What happened immediately after the ascension of Christ in the first reading shows and dictates how united the apostles of Jesus are. Before ascending into heaven, Jesus tells His disciples “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

 

After He ascended, the disciples moved with one heart to the upper room. No one decided to leave, no one decided to do otherwise, no one thinks he has more appointments than others. With one heart they remained in prayer. There was no dragging of who to obey or not to obey, who to lead or not to lead.  Psalm 133:1    says “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Behold how powerful a prayer will be when brothers pray in one accord without hatred.

 

This type of unity in seeking the face of God makes prayer powerful. Can we today gather together in oneness to seek solutions to problems? Can families today stay with one heart? Can we work with one heart even in our places of work? Why is hatred and wickedness taking their pounds of flesh on us?

 

 

Jesus Prays

1. After taking enough time to admonish, strengthen and prepare His disciples, Jesus now prayed for them.  The prayer of Jesus concludes what I may term the farewell address of Jesus, After focusing His attention on the disciples, Jesus now looked up to heaven and focused his attention to God, offering His prayers for his disciples and for those who truly belong to Him to the eternal Father, that they may be one; one with themselves (John 17:11) and one with God (John 17:21). And the standard for this oneness is nothing if not that oneness that exists between the Father and the Son.

 

 

This prayer is often called The High Priestly Prayer for two reasons: First, Jesus is preparing to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

 

Second, he intercedes for his disciples in the same way that the high priest intercedes for the people of Israel ( Romans 8:34). Jesus is praying for those who belong to him.

 

You can see or imagine the tears, the thirst, the anguish in His heart as He says this prayer. He wants us to live in peace and oneness with another. He wants us to live in peace with God. He does not want any soul to be lost  (John 6:39 Mathew 18:14 ). We seek to be lost when we seek to do our desires than God’s will.

 

As Jesus takes time today to pray for us, to show how He so much loves us, how many times have we prayed for one another? How many times do we wish that something good would happen to the other person? But many only rejoice when they see the other person suffering. Where is our calling?

 

 

2. Jesus says that He has glorified God on earth by finishing the works that God gave him to do. The Greek word for “finish” is teleioō, Jesus uttered this word at the time of his death when he said tetelestai, “it is finished.”He glorified God  by finishing the work God gave him to do.

 

This means He honoured God by becoming obedient to the Father. His public ministry and all that happened are simply in obedience to the Father. The only way we can honour God, the only way we can prove to be true disciples of Jesus is to obey Him.

 

In John 15: 10-12 He says “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you”. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35).

 

When we live in unity, we do not do it to fulfill our own desires,we do it to prove who we are, that our worship of God is not pretense. It is a pointer that we are truly disciples of Jesus. But we have preferred to live the other way round.

 

The Greatest Concern.

Our greatest concern should be how to come together and work as one. Once people come together, a lot of burdens will be relieved and many problems will be solved. Unity is power.

 

In the gospel, Jesus says:

“Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.”

This prayer reveals the greatest concern Jesus has about the disciples. Before Jesus suffered, before the Cross, before His death, His greatest concern was not power, wealth, or success. His concern was that His followers would remain united.This should be your greatest concern if you are a leader. As a father or mother, a priest, a traditional ruler, a business man etc, this should your greatest concern. Make sure there is no weak wall where you are incharge. Always bring people together and do not divide them.

A Little Analysis.

Exegetically, this Gospel is rich with meaning. Let us analyze it gradually.

1.First, Jesus says:“Father, the hour has come.”In the Gospel of John, “the hour” refers to the moment of Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection, and glorification. At that time, Jesus understands that His mission on earth is reaching its fulfillment.So, it means that He is not running away from suffering. He embraces it willingly. This teaches us that moments in our lives has a reason.

2. Second, Jesus defines eternal life: He says “And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

This means that eternal life is not only about going to heaven after death. It begins now through a living relationship with God. To “know” God in biblical language means intimacy, communion, closeness, and faithful relationship.

3.Third, Jesus speaks about completing His mission: He says “I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” Jesus remained faithful to His assignment. He did not abandon His mission halfway. He obeyed the Father completely. Let us also be willing and ready to follow God in obedience.

4. Fourth, Jesus prays specifically for His disciples: “It is for them that I pray.”

This is beautiful. Jesus intercedes for His people. Even before His suffering, He carries His disciples in His heart. Here, He teaches us the need to pray for others. many do not try this because they think that the other person would be greater than them. Okay let me ask you “When was the last time you sincerely prayers for others?

5.Finally, Jesus prays for unity: “That they may be one like us.” The unity Jesus speaks about is not superficial unity. It is divine unity modeled after the relationship between the Father and the Son. This is a unity built on love, sacrifice, truth, forgiveness, humility, and mutual care. If you want your peace to last, build your unity under the afore mentioned virtues.

Sadly, brothers and sisters, today we are living in a world deeply wounded by division. Families no longer speak to one another because of inheritance. Brothers and sisters become enemies because of money. Marriages are breaking because pride refuses to apologize. Communities are divided by gossip and tribalism. Church groups compete instead of supporting one another. Even on social media, hatred spreads faster than kindness.

Many homes today are physically together but spiritually divided. A husband and wife sleep in the same room but no longer speak with love. Children avoid their parents. Relatives keep malice for many years.
Friends destroy one another with envy.This is exactly why the prayer of Jesus is urgently needed today.

 

If We Truly Know God

If we truly know God as we claim,we will seek peace,love and unity wherever we are and despite our positions, we will use what God blessed us with to create harmony than division. For this to form the major theme of Jesus’ prayers is an indication on how important it is in our lives. It is a way to show we truly know God.

 

Jesus in the prayer included “This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Chris” He prays that we should know God intimately. This Spiritual intimacy with the Father is nothing but total obedience to the Father’s will and loving fellowship with other Christians.

This shows that our Eternal life begins during our earthly life and continues into the life that we will experience after death. It involves how you relate with God and how you relate with the other person beside you.

These are nothing but keeping the great commandments of Jesus to love God and love another. The eternal life we seek starts now and hinges on these two commandments.

 

 

Conclusion

1.It is so sad that those who should promote peace and unity are those who are first to destroy it. Every christian should be an agent of peace and unity. But we are busy struggling for positions, lands, struggling for gains and possessions etc, where is our calling?

 

It is so disheartening that those who should promote and maintain this intention of the Lord are also those who continue to make matters worse.

 

It is so unbearable that people who also go to Church everyday hardly live in unity, many families today and many christian communities today have totally lost sight of what it means to be essentially disciples of Christ. There is hardly a family without quarrel, power tussle, land disputes, and different forms of quarrel.

 

 

2.One goes  to receive holy communion everyday but lives in disunity for more than thirty years or more, where do we go from here? It is so sad that people who are supposed to work together in harmony and reason together live in brushes. Yet we are promoters of the gospels, we are disciples of Jesus, we are Christians, we go to church everyday.

 

3.Many Christians today are filled with hatred,jealousy, wickedness, evil minded. They laugh and rejoice with you, you think they are with you but totally against you. Jesus invites us to be one. It is the only way to prove we love Him, the only way to obey Him and the surest way to eternal life. Just as He prayed for us and His disciples today, let us also spend time and pray for one another and help and encourage another, just as the apostles today prayed with one accord, let us work with one accord, joining forces together to solve our problems than fighting each other. Any one, any family, any church, any community that can truly find this virtue is ultimately blessed.

 

5. Learn to forgive quickly. Many families are carrying wounds that have lasted for years. Some people cannot even remember why they started fighting, yet the hatred continues. Jesus teaches us that unity requires forgiveness. Pride destroys relationships, but humility heals them.Sometimes peace begins with one simple sentence:
“I am sorry.”
“Let us talk.”
“I forgive you.”

 

 

 

May God help us dearest to continually abide in Him. May Your week be blessed. Amen. I will so much appreciate your feedback in the reply section. God bless you

Fr. Sanctus Mario

YOU MAY READ

https://sanctusmario.com/daily-inspirations/negative-thoughts-are-very-dangerous/