HOMILY FOR THE 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (C)
Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
In the traditional Igbo culture and many other cultures of the world, it is a common practice to look up to heaven whenever one wants to communicate 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. Salvation comes from above. 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.
Prayer has been popularly known to be the raising 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; the highest of all there is. 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 supreme and stands at the zenith. So, the visible gesture of showing this highness 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.
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
In the Gospel reading (John 17:20-26), we encounter the priestly prayer of Jesus. This was the last encounter Jesus had with his disciples before his arrest. Does this not have a great lesson to teach us? And 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 points we need to highlight in this Jesus’ prayer:
The content and The admonitory tone of the prayer
The content of Jesus’ prayer has two dimensions:
a) 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. Prayer provides an enabling environment for unity. The Church is a worshipping community united under one head. However, sometimes we are inclined to doubt that Jesus Christ can unite us.
b) Glory: Jesus also prayed that ‘they may see my glory’ (v.24). Unity breeds glory. The culmination of that unity is sharing in the glory that Jesus has with the Father from the beginning. The unity among Christians ought to mirror the reality of Jesus’ union with the Father. This same glory was shown to Stephen as a reward for his witness to Christ (in the first reading). Glory becomes the reward of our service towards unity. Every Christian prayer yearns deeply for a sharing in the divine glory. The divine glory consist in eternal life with God.
The Admonitory tone
The prayer of Jesus was a vocal prayer; that was why his disciples could hear him. Vocal prayer could serve as an avenue of admonition to the people being prayed for. It was 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. 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. 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 advises us and warns us to remain united.
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 been an apostle of unity and peace; he was then able to be shown the sight of glory. There are again two basic dimensions to Stephen’s act of prayer: glorification/ adoration and 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 starts with adoration. Adoration is a sign of our submissiveness to God. 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 healing 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 sacrificial, selfless and considerate, and makes us aware of our dependency on God.
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 prayer-less Christian is a powerless Christian. Pray always. Putting a pause to prayer implies putting a pause to our source of livelihood -God. God’s interest in our prayers is overwhelming. He gives us the assurance of sustenance. This is seen in his promise: I will not leave you orphans, I will come back to you and your hearts will rejoice (cf. The Gospel acclamation). Let us remind ourselves of those lovely lyrics from Don Moen. ♫♫When you've prayed every prayer that you know how to pray; Just remember the Lord will hear and the answer is on it's way. Our God is able; He is mighty; He is faithful. And He never sleeps, He never slumbers; He never tires of hearing our prayer. When we are weak He becomes stronger. So rest in His love and cast all of your cares on Him.♫♫ God never leaves us. He never forsakes. He searches for us. Why then should we give up on God or ourselves when God does not give up on us? God Bless you.
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