LIFTING UP THE EYES TO GOD: THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN

LIFTING UP THE EYES TO GOD: THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN
HOMILY FOR THE 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (C)
Rev. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
Intros
♫♫ Ekpere bu ogwu m gworo n’ime Chineke, ekpere bu ogwu anyi gworo, anyi ga agwo ya ozo ♫♫. There was a certain Nigerian movie that I watched in the far past. In it, a certain woman was accused of adultery and was about to be killed for this offence which she was actually innocent of. In the morning of he day of her execution, she woke and ran out under the open air, and looking up to the skies, she lamented heavily and then shouted: Amadioha (God of justice), vindicate me. Immediately, great thunder and lightning ensued from the clouds and as if to say they were on mission went to each one of the accusers and struck them dead. She was vindicated, because she looked up to heaven.
In our traditional Igbo society, it is a common practice to look up to heaven whenever one wants to try some form of communication with the divine. When one is aggrieved, he/she looks up for vindication. When one is joyful, he/she looks up to glorify the Lord. When one is in pains, he/she looks up for healing. There are many advantages attached whenever one looks up to heaven. And indeed, no one can deny this fact that looking up is a universal gesture seen in our communication with God. This communication is Prayer.

PART 1: BUT, WHAT IS PRAYER?
Prayer has been popularly known to be the rising up of our minds and heart to God. The visible manifestation of this ‘raising’ is seen in our eyes which is the visible instrument for sight. Hence, we can state that prayer can be expressed through the lifting up of our eyes to heaven/God. In it, we communicate with a being higher than humans; and indeed is the highest. We lift up our eyes to God because God is king, most high above all the earth (cf. Psalm 97: 1 Responsorial Psalm). He is the supreme and stands at the zenith. So, the visible gesture of showing this highness, zenithness, and supremacy is that of lifting up our eyes. The lifting up of our eyes apart from being a gesture can also be metaphorical, in the sense of our knowledge that God is above and he/she who seeks Him must be submissive to this supremacy, he that is supreme in our human calculation cannot be placed below. He must be above. Let us then draw some points from the readings of today to see how portray this importance of prayer for every Christian.

PART 2: THE PRAYER OF JESUS
In the Gospel reading (John 17:20-26), we encounter the priestly prayer of Jesus. He used this gesture: lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed (John 17:20). We must also recall that in the preceding pericope (John 17: 6-19), Jesus had already prayed for his immediate disciples; and now, he turns to all who would become believers in his name. There are two basic tips we need to bring to the limelight in this Jesus’ prayer:
The content of the prayer
The admonitory voice of the prayer
The Content of the Prayer
The content of Jesus’ prayer in the pericope of our consideration has two directions:
a) The prayer of unity: Jesus prayed ‘that they may be one’ (vv. 21.22). He said this twice to show how important it was for him. He looks beyond the immediate circle of disciples to those who will believe as a result of their testimony. It is a prayer for unity. There are two dimensions to the expression of this unity: one vertical (Jesus and the Father), and the other horizontal (among members of the Church). The unity between Jesus and His Father poses great challenges to the world. Its object is to show the world the source of the unity. Jesus is the one who brings the disciples into the community of God. Our Christian prayer must be one that gears towards the restoration and revival of this unity. Any prayer that has no sense for unity limps. The importance of prayer for Christians is that it provides an enabling environment for unity. It is a worshipping community united under one head. But it is a pity as regards our today’s experience. Do we still believe that Jesus Christ can unite us? Do we still believe that the oneness of the God-head can initiate and fire up oneness amongst Christians?
b) The Prayer for Glory: Jesus also prayed that ‘they may see my glory’ (v.24). after this strive for unity comes glory. The culmination of that unity should be in the sharing in the glory that Jesus has with the Father from the beginning. To experience the reality of Jesus’ union with the Father, christians must live in unity with God and with fellows. This same glory was shown to Stephen as a reward for his witness to Christ (in the first reading). Before we see this glory, we must practice and pray for unity. Every christian prayer must be one that asks for sharing in the divine glory. The divine glory is the eternal life with God. ♫♫ Eternal Life, I want to live eternal life, God save my soul; oh my saviour, when you want to collect your people, remember me oh Lord, remember me my Lord ♫♫.
The Admonitory Voice of the Prayer
Jesus said a vocal prayer. He prayed to the Father, yes; but he allowed Himself to be heard by the disciples, otherwise it would not have been written down. Vocal prayer can be an avenue of admonition to the people being prayed for. It could be as if Jesus was telling the disciples: make sure you see that you live out the content of this prayer; to remain united and to teach it, not disunity. United we stand but divided we fall. A broom cannot be broken but a stick can be broken into many parts. It is disheartening how we introduce disunity (due to our individual interest) to the body of Christ, the Church for whom Christ prayed. Promoters of disunity either can do this by word of mouth or by action; inciting hatred in the heart of a faithful against another faithful. Jesus through this prayer advices us and warns us to avoid disunity and avoid inciting others to disunity.

PART 3: THE PRAYER OF STEPHEN
Stephen ‘gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God.’ The direct sight of Stephen’s vision was the glory of God which he had wished in the gospel that we share in. He had made Stephen even while on earth to share in this glory of unity (seeing Jesus seated at the right hand of God). Stephen had already practiced the horizontal dimension of Jesus’ wish that we be one; that was why he received this sight of glory. There are two basic dimensions to Stephen’s act of prayer:
It was one of glorification and adoration
It was one of petition
Glorification and Adoration
Stephen’s act of gazing into heaven was itself an act of prayer which was followed up by glorification and adoration. Our prayer to God begins with adoration of His glory. Christian prayer must start with adoration. We must show our submissiveness to God. He is higher than us. Hence, the importance of Christian prayer is to lead us to come to the knowledge of our lowliness, our creatureliness, our submissiveness and our allegiance to the divine majesty.
Petition
Stephen prayed again when the people were stoning him to death. His prayer of petition has a dual face: for self (Lord, receive my spirit) and for others (Lord, do not hold this sin against them). As Christians, we must ask God for favours for ourselves and for others. Whenever our prayer becomes selfish, it simply ceases to be Christian. We have many things to ask from the Lord. We have needs (our lives, our businesses, for protection, for guidance, for success, for knowledge). Others too have these needs. We must remember them in our prayers. Hence, the importance of Christian prayer is to lead us Christians to pray for ourselves and for others. It helps us to be selfless and considerate, and makes us aware of our dependency on God.

CONCLUSION
John 17: 20-26 was the last encounter Jesus had with his disciples before his arrest. Jesus ended with prayers to the Father. We must pray always and never lose heart. ♫♫ Prayer is the key, prayer is the master key. Jesus started with prayers and ended with prayers. Prayer is the master key ♫♫. It is in prayer that we see God’s glory and hear His voice. We must lift up our eyes/minds in prayer. Salvation comes from above, and that is why we must look up; yes, we must pray. A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian. Pray always. When you stop praying, you stop living because our livelihood has its source on God. You must also know that God answers every prayer. He answers based on what he knows is best for us. It is either a Yes or a No or a Wait. He does answers. Remember, he promises us: I will not leave you orphans, I will come back to you and your hearts will rejoice (cf. The Gospel acclamation). Never think that God has forsaken you when you pray and get no answer in our human thinking. He never leaves us. He never forsakes. He searches for us. May God make his words alive in us. Amen. God bless you.