MAY I SHARE IN YOUR GLORY

HOMILY FOR THE 7^TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Today, we are confronted with John 17 which is known as the High Priestly prayer of Jesus Christ. It is a chapter in the Gospel which contains the words uttered by Christ, with eyes lifted up to heaven in prayer to the Father, and was uninterrupted by any question or interaction until the end of it. After this prayer, the next set of words Jesus uttered which was a question to the band of soldiers who came to arrest him was: whom do you seek (John 18:4)? This reminds us too of the very first set of words Jesus uttered in the whole of the Gospel of John which was a question to the two disciples of John: what do you seek (John 1:38)? As the first concerned things (what), the second concerned a person (who). As the first was a quest to discover the works of the Messiah so as to be with him, the second was a quest to discover the Messiah himself so as to arrest him. And so, the priestly prayer stands as a nexus that corrects the limitations of John 18:4 and John 1:38. The disciples should rather have sought the person of Christ and not the works. The soldiers should rather have sought the Christ to be with him and not to arrest him. Hence, from the foregoing, the prayer came directly before the betrayal as it clearly demonstrates the end of Jesus’ ministry.

 

In John 17, we meet the sacred words which are incomparable with ours in prayer. But a deeper scrutiny and reflection over the words of this prayer reveal to us three major petitions of Jesus to his Father: GLORIFY (John 17:1.5), KEEP (John 17:11b), and SANCTIFY (John 17:17). For the purpose of this reflection, we shall have to dwell on the first petition which actually is the Gospel reading of today (John 17:1-11a).

The word glory (which is rendered in Greek as Doxa) regardless of its occurrence in different forms appeared five times in the Gospel. Jesus prayed: Father,...glorify your son that the son may glorify you. The glorifying in the Son is fully explained in the Father as being that which the son possessed in that ineffable fellowship with the Father, not merely before incarnation, but before creation. However, the glory Christ now prays for points to the appropriate recompense of his earthly life and character. The petition not only reveals the divinity of the son but the acceptance of divine will, which is the death on the cross, and the introductory clause the hour has come points to the impending sufferings as the first step in the answer to the petition. The purpose of this petition is clear. It points to the mutual nature of the glory shared by the Father and the Son and the Son’s selflessness (not for himself, but for men). He sought glory not out of weariness of the earth, impatience in suffering or limitations of mankind, but that he might manifest fully the name of the Father by that glory they share. All gears towards the revelation of the Father; that they may know the only one true God. This is the perfect culmination of the glory of God which before the incarnation has many prefigurations.

Obedience exhumes divine glory. And that is what I call covenantal glory. In Exodus 24, we encounter the confirmation of the covenant between God and the Israelites. When Moses read the book of the covenant and read to the hearing of all the people, the people in unison concord: all that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient (v.7). And the word of God made us aware that when Moses went up to the mountain, he met the glory of the Lord in the forms of cloud and of fire. Now, the glory that came down in form of cloud which covered Moses appeared to the people like a devouring fire. When you obey, divine glory is attracted.

Truthfulness attracts glory. And that is the type I call vindical glory. And when in Numbers 14, the people rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and even wanted to elect a leader that will lead them back to Egypt due to the majority report of the spies sent into Canaan, Joshua and Caleb came up with their report of encouragement which expressed total faith in God. They warned the people against the spirit of rebellion and fear, but the people rather wanted to stone them, for perhaps they had thought that they were not realistic with the situation. As they planned to do this, the glory of the Lord descended and vindicated them. The Lord is the King of glory (cf. Ps. 29:7-10). When you are about to be persecuted unjustly, divine glory is attracted. Glory vindicates. You will experience the Lord repeating the words he uttered to the Prophet Isaiah in 48:11, for my own sake, I will do it. For how should my name be profaned. My glory I will not give to another.

Divine glory protects and guides. This type is known as the Shekinah Glory. In Exodus 13, the shekinah was evident. The Israelites set out from Succoth in their escape from Egypt. There the Lord appeared in a cloudy pillar in the day and a pillar of fire by night. By day, the Lord went ahead of them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day and night (Exodus 1:20-22). This type of glory insofar as it guides and protects also makes us to be quick achievers, to be vibrant, to avoid laziness, and to be fast. When you see yourself marking time in your business or you feel your destiny is being delayed, call on the shekinah glory.

The Psalmist prays in 72:19 that the glory of the Lord may fill the earth. It is this glory that ensures obedience and justice. In Psalm 108:5, he continues to pray that the glory of the Lord will be over all the earth. It was this prayer that we came to notice answered in John 1:14 when in the incarnation, the word became flesh, and dwelt among us. The Evangelist expressly wrote that the world which became flesh was the highest manifestation of God’s glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Therefore, the glory which Moses prayed for to be shown in Exodus 33:18 was manifested in John 1:14; and that is in the incarnation. An awareness of God’s glory in Christ develops two consequences. 1. Such glory is centred upon the cross, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ as the events which helped to establish the kingdom of God on earth 2. Such glory develops in us an understanding of the Spirit poured out into the hearts of believers as the one who enables men and women to give glory to God by working for the justice of God’s kingdom. The glorification of God consists in the salvation of this world and the divinization of humanity.

There are therefore some ways of demonstrating our experience of the glory of God.  The first is a life of prayer. In the First Reading (Acts 1:12-14), the apostles after having witnessed the glorious ascension into heaven went back to Jerusalem and did no other thing than to devote themselves to the life of prayer. However, to pray well, we must begin with the acknowledgement of God’s glory just as in the priestly prayer of Christ he began with acknowledging the glory he shared with the Father. An acknowledgment of the glory of God brings us down to our knees in obedience of a God who is our creator and redeemer. This is the way of maintaining our own glory. We maintain our glory by glorifying God. This is the last sentence of the Second Reading of today (1 Pet. 4:13-16). St. Peter enjoins us that even in suffering we must glorify God because it is in suffering that glory is revealed.

Glory challenges us. We acknowledge the omnipotence of God. We discover our nothingness before Him. We carry ourselves with dignity by not sinning. We see the divine glory in others by not mistreating our fellow humans. We work for justice, love, and peace to ensure that the glory of God is felt in our world. It is because God is glorious that we humans are glorious. May we have this at the back of our minds as I wish you a blessed week ahead. God bless you.