Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Today's Mass Readings

Pentecost is quickly approaching, and the liturgical season of Easter finally coming to an end. What does the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost signify? Unity, for one thing. We see this foreshadowed dramatically in Jesus’ words of prayer in the gospel of John in today’s passage: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (Jn. 17:20-21). The unity of his followers is something for which Jesus prays, and the cause of unity is one reason for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It is interesting to think about Jesus’ prayer in today’s gospel in relation to the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts, we continue to hear of Paul’s adventure story as the early church spreads. The adventure of the early church was not always easy, as we have learned through the past six weeks of Easter. Today we find Paul accused by the Jews. At this point, however, Judaism and Christianity were not really separate religions. In a sense, this was a family feud, and early Christians had to discern how to negotiate their Jewish roots as well as their new Gentile members to the church. In the passage here, Paul takes advantage of an already existing family feud within Judaism, namely, the resurrection. Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, whereas the Saducees did not. Paul, a believer in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, stakes his claim in the belief of resurrection by identifying with the Pharisees. The ensuing dispute was so serious that the commander who had placed him before the religious court has Paul rescued.

There is clear disunity in the first reading… but does that contrast with Jesus’ prayer or indicate the need for Jesus’ prayer? From the very beginning, it seems, the early church was a source of disunity; taking the resurrection claim of the Pharisees in a particular direction by believing in Jesus’ own resurrection, Paul caused an uproar among the Jews. So let us note that the unity for which Jesus prays is not that of the Jewish people or even the world, but of his followers.

At this time in Christian history, it is clear that we still need Jesus’ prayer for unity. We need to make Jesus’ prayer our own in a world where Christians not only argue with each other over doctrinal, but – often out of patriotic motives – kill each other in wars. Given our deeply divided Christianity, it would be easy to despair of any real unity. Instead, we look forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, hoping that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and with Jesus’ prayer for unity, we may work toward pursuing Christian truth in peaceful ways.

During the rest of the day, let us think of those Christians we often forget, and pray that we may be united with them, including being united to their sufferings. Let us pray for the Christians of Palestine, who still celebrate their liturgies in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Let us pray for the Christians of Iraq, who suffer from lack of peace. Let us pray for the Christians of China, who continue to undergo persecution. In addition to all these and other Christians around the globe, let us also pray for the unity of Christians in the United States. May we not simply gloss over our differences, but rather, let the coming of the Holy Spirit be an invitation for all of us to seek truth and debate truth in following Jesus more closely.

- Maria Morrow