Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
The gospel for today is taken from the prayer that Jesus offers just before he goes to the garden where he is arrested. In the prayer, Jesus speaks of the role of his disciples after his ascension. Jesus prays that his disciples will pick up where he has left off and continue his work in the world. It is fitting to read this gospel passage at this particular time in the liturgical year, since we have just celebrated the feast of the ascension when Jesus took leave of his disciples for the last time. Although Jesus speaks in his prayer of returning to the Father, it would be a mistake to think that his ascension means that Jesus is gone. Instead, that Jesus ascended means that he is present to us in ways that he was not present during his earthly life and ministry. Among other ways, he is present to us in the mass, in our daily prayer, and in our lives in community with other people.
One of the main things that Jesus prays for in this passage is eternal life for his followers. The concept of eternal life is the idea of living in the recognition of God’s presence. By praying that his disciples find eternal life, Jesus shows his concern for those who believe in him and who seek to live as he lived: “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ” (v. 3).
As I reflect on this verse, it occurs to me once again that living out our faith is something that we can do here and now. It is not something that we can wait to do until we arrive in the afterlife. The gospel reading, from Acts, presents us with a concrete example of someone who has chosen to live their life in the knowledge of Jesus and in devoted service to him. Paul states there that he has faithfully served Jesus and that he has done what he has done for the sake of spreading the gospel. Paul’s life and ministry is a dramatic illustration of how Jesus’ disciples will live as a result of their encounter with him.
Seeing that Paul achieved eternal life is well and good, but Paul was an extraordinary follower of Jesus. How can I as an ordinary person grasp onto this eternal life that Jesus offers? It seems to me that each of us can do this by doing what Jesus commands of us: namely, loving God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves, and by learning to serve God in our daily lives. This is not an easy thing to be asked to do, but it is something that Jesus promises he will help us with. Jesus states that he is going away but that what he has done while in the world makes it possible for those whom the father has given him to follow his lead. He sends them out into the world to continue his work (v. 18). Moreover he prays for their salvation and looks forward to the time when all believers will be united in God (vv. 20-26). Today, let us grasp onto the hope offered in Jesus’ words. Trusting in God’s love for us, let us ask that we too will be led to eternal life through our service to God and one another.
- Joel Schickel