HE ALWAYS THINKS OF US (7 SUNDAY OF EASTER)

The 1973 movie, Message to My Daughter, is the moving story of Miranda, a completely disoriented teenage girl who saw the world as “meaningless, cruel and stupid.” Miranda did not know her mother. She died when Miranda was only two years old. Miranda felt unloved and was incapable of loving anyone. Then she discovered some tapes on which her dying mother had recorded a “message” for her. As she listened to the words of her long-dead mother, she realized that she was not the unloved child she thought she was. Her mother had thought of her and had loved her very tenderly. This discovery brought about in her a complete change in the way she saw herself and the world around her. She was finally able to acceptance herself and put her life together again.

When we read the gospels and the promises of Jesus to his disciples, do we not sometimes wonder whether Jesus actually thought of us, or whether he only had in mind his disciples who were right there before him. Today’s gospel passage is unique in the sense that this is the only place in the gospels where we get the assurance that Jesus thought not only of his immediate disciples but of us as well. The rendering of John 17:20 in the International Children’s Bible brings out more clearly the point we are making: “I pray for these men. But I am also praying for all people who will believe in me because of the teaching of these men.”

It makes a lot of difference for us to know that Jesus thought of us, that he had us in mind as he died and gave his life for the salvation of the world, that he actually prayed for us. We know that God always hears the prayer of Jesus. So, if Jesus prayed for us we would like to know what it was that he prayed for us about. What Jesus asked the Father in our behalf is basically one thing: unity.

Father, I pray that all people who believe in me can be one. You are in me and I am in you. I pray that these people can also be one in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me (John 17:21 ICB).

Jesus’ prayer for Christian unity is much more relevant to the church in the modern world than it was to the church of the early Christians. The church of the early Christians knew nothing about the great walls of division separating Christians from Christians today. The fragmentation of the Christian church in our time has been described as a scandal to the world. How can Christians preach love and forgiveness to the world when they cannot love and forgive one another? How can Christians preach reconciliation and peace in the world when they cannot be reconciled and live in peace with one another? Lack of unity among Christians remains one of the greatest obstacles in the way of Christian witnessing to an unbelieving world. No wonder Jesus prayed that we all may be one “so that the world will believe.”

Jesus went on to say, “I have given these people the glory that you gave me. I gave them this glory so that they can be one, the same as you and I are one” (John 17:22 ICB). In other words, Jesus has bequeathed glory to the church. But this glory can only manifest itself when the unity among Christians reflects the unity between Jesus and the Father. Lack of unity takes away from the glory which Jesus intended for the body of believers.

Finally Jesus prayed for us so that the love with which the Father has loved him may be in us (verse 26). The unity for which Jesus prayed is a unity based on divine love. It is a unity that is possible only with the love of God in us. It is not a unity based on human wisdom, on power or on diplomacy. It is not a unity of uniformity or a unity which deprives others of their individuality but a unity in the essentials, that makes room for diversity. The famous saying that goes back to St Augustine is a good guide for the church as it works it way slowly toward the unity for which Jesus prayed: “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty; in all things, charity.”

As we wait and pray for a rekindling of the fire of divine love in the hearts of the faithful at Pentecost, let us all resolve, in our own little ways, to work for the realisation of the full unity of all Christians for which Jesus prayed. And the best way to work for this unity is to live in the love of God and our neighbour.

CHRIST THE ETERNAL PRIEST ENTERS HEAVEN (ASCENSION DAY)

In his book Written in Blood, Robert Coleman tells the story of a little girl, Mary, who needed a blood transfusion. Her little brother, Johnny, had suffered from the same disease that she had and had recovered two years earlier. Since her best chance of recovery was a transfusion from someone who had recovered from the disease, her little brother was identified as the ideal donor. "Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister." Soon the two kids were wheeled into the hospital room. Neither of them spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny's smile faded. Johnny watched his blood flow through the tube. When the ordeal was over, Johnny's shaky voice broke the silence. "Doctor, when do I die?" It was only then that the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had trembled when he agreed to donate his blood. He thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. When he agreed to give the blood, Johnny had agreed to die so that his sister would live. Fortunately, Johnny did not have to die to save his sister. Blood was a crucial commodity in the temple worship in Jerusalem. Much of the work of the priests involved slaughtering animals and shedding their blood to make atonement for sin, and sprinkling the people with blood to cleanse them from guilt. The reason for this was because, as the author of Hebrews explains, "Under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). The most important institution in the covenant relationship of the Jewish people with God was not the king who ruled in God's name, or the prophet who spoke the word of God, but the priest who offered the sacrifice of blood that took away the sins of the people and restored them to God's favour. In the people's dealings with God, the priest was seen as the number one mediator, since "Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins (Hebrews 5:1)." Jesus did not identify himself as a priest or describe the role of his disciples as that of priesthood. The earliest Christians still worshiped in the temple and benefitted from the ministry of temple priests. When the temple was destroyed in 70 a.d. and the people had no more sacrifice, Jewish Christians began to understand that the sacrifice of animals in the temple was no longer necessary because Jesus has made once-and-for-all the only sacrifice of blood that pleased God. By the time Hebrews was written, Jewish Christians had come to see Jesus as the priest par excellence. Compared to the priesthood of Jesus, the priesthood of the temple was only a shadow. The ascension of Christ into heaven where he sits at God's right hand making intercession for God's people is compared to the temple priest going up the steps into the sanctuary (the holy place) to offer sacrifice. But the sacrifice of Christ in infinitely superior. Today's 2nd reading shows us three ways in which Christ's sacrifice is superior to that of the temple priest. Firstly, unlike the case of the temple priesthood, "Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf"(9:24). Secondly, the temple sacrifice was limited in its effect, hence it was offered constantly year after year. Christ's sacrifice was once and for all (verses 25- 26). Finally, the temple priest offered the blood of lambs, but Christ has offered "the sacrifice of himself"(verse 26). The blood of the Son of God is infinitely more powerful than the blood of lambs to take away our sins and cleanse us in such a way that we appear unblemished in God's sight. As today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, let us not mourn the disappearance of Christ. Let us rather celebrate his going up into the eternal holy place, God's very presence, to make atonement for us. "And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful"(10:21-23).