Homily: Seventh Sunday of Easter Year A
Missions of the Post-Ascension Church
in Times of Pandemic (A)
Fr. Udoekpo, Michael Ufok
v Acts 1:12-14
v Ps 27:1, 4, 7-8
v 1 Pet 4:13-16
v John 17:1-11
In today’s
Gospel, the last chapter of the book of glory, Jesus prays for the church and speaks
of his glory with God, to whom he has ascended in heaven (John 17:11a). He prays,
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,
since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all
whom you have given him” (John 17:1-2).
This prayer
is an expression of Jesus’ unity with the Father. It is an expression of love for
the church he established. It is also a report of his mission of love, compassion,
feeding the poor, forgiving sinners, and healing the sick while on earth. It is
a report of the faith he taught, the suffering he endured, the cross he carried
on our behalf, and the community of believers he formed (John 17:6-8). In his glorification,
he will give eternal life to this community of faith. This eternal life includes
the knowledge of God and his inspiration and spirit for the church, the Christian
community, to continue his mission in good times and in bad times, in times of pandemic
or not.
Jesus,
whom we are invited to imitate in this time of pandemic, was a man of prayer, from
baptism to the cross. He continues his prayerful character after his ascension.
The first reading (Acts 1:12-14) presents his disciples continuing in this mission
of prayer in the Upper Room after his ascension. We are told that after Jesus had
been taken up to heaven,
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called
Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had
entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying,
Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and
Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.
All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain
women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
Each of
us (in this time of corona virus) is invited, in our little ways, places and
locations, to be Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew,
James, and Mary: men and women of prayer who delight in following in Jesus’ footsteps
at all times. Truly, we face many challenges: frustration, low grades, hatred, insults,
discrimination, racism, disappointments, betrayals, illnesses, corona virus and
loss of loved ones. In the midst of these challenges remember, before his
ascension, Christ himself faced many challenges and severe suffering, even to the
cross.
Today’s
second reading, 1 Peter 4:13-16, further confirms this and reminds us how to react
to suffering. It teaches us how to handle the challenges of life. It says, “Yet
if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but
glorify God because you bear this name” (1 Pet 4:16). Peter also stresses the
importance of joy, saying, “Rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s
sufferings” (1 Pet 4:13).
As
scientists and others have suggested in this time of pandemic follow the rules,
take a walk, listen to music, reach to friends, the poor and the needy, as well your families
on social media and in your prayers as we hope for the best.
In the
midst our challenges we are hopeful that Christ will never leave us as orphans.
He constantly prays for and watches over us. We ask the Lord to help us also recognize
the importance of prayer, faith, and hope despite this pandemic. We ask him to
help us be encouraged by the unity of the post-ascension Christian communities
as they kept the words of Christ and promoted his values and mission to people of
all walks of life, especially the poor, the weak and those mostly affected by
this pandemic.
Reflection
Questions
1. How
often do you recognize the importance of prayer and encourage others to pray in
your religious communities, in moments like, the ongoing pandemic?
2. What
prevents you from engaging in constant prayer?
3. In this
period of pandemic what ways do you pray for and concretely encourage the poor and
weak in your society or neighborhood?
4. What
is your additional mission, not mentioned here, as a Christian in this time of
pandemic?
Seventh Sunday of Easter Year A
Praying and Waiting in the Upper Room
In Times of Pandemic (B)
Fr. Udoekpo, Michael Ufok
v Acts 1:12-14
v Ps 27:1, 4, 7-8
v 1 Pet 4:13-16
v John 17:1-11a
The ascension
of Christ is celebrated by some dioceses today. We joyfully celebrated Christ’s
ascension on Thursday. We saw in our Scripture reflection and sharing that although
Christ has departed, or has been lifted up, he remains with us in the tabernacle
(John 12:32). He remains with us in the Holy Eucharist. He is with us as we read
the Bible. He is with us as we turn to say “hello” to our neighbors, whom we are
encouraged to love. He is with us in the songs we join the choir in singing, in
our hearts that our disposed to listen to the sermons, in our friends, in our church
and family members, and in our children, husbands, and wives. He is with us
even in moments of pandemic. Jesus will be there with and for us until the end of
time (Matt 28:20).
Sometimes
this is hard for us to understand. When I was a little child, I would cry my
eyes out when mom left home to work or get groceries. Waiting for her to return
was always painful. It took me a while to recognize the importance of waiting—and
to realize that if she didn’t buy groceries, our dinner would be incomplete and
we wouldn’t have milk for breakfast.
The readings
of today’s liturgy describe the church waiting in prayer for the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost. This Spirit of peace, love, serenity, gentleness, grace, and courage
joins us on our Christian journeys, particularly in this period (of corona
virus pandemic). Imagine the
believers—the eleven apostles, Mary the mother of Christ, his friends, brothers,
and sisters—who had gathered in prayer in that Upper Room (Acts 1:12-14). Without
prayer, it would have been very difficult for them to handle the “seeming absence
of Christ in their midst,” the entire paschal mysteries.
Christ,
who was in deep union with his Father, knew the journey was not going to be easy
for his post-ascension disciples and church. It is no wonder that in the high
priestly prayer of today’s Gospel (John
17:1-26) he committed our well being and faith into God’s hands. He prayed
that through the gift of the Holy Spirit, each of us may be brought into the deep
union and friendship that he had shared with God his Father.
This union
is only achieved through prayer. With prayer, everything is possible, and every
gift of the Holy Spirit is achievable (Isa 11:2-3; Gal 5:22). As we make decisions—whether
it’s deciding what college to attend, what doctor to visit, what suggestions to
make at family and executive meetings, which Mass to attend, what menu to choose
from, what book to read, what movie to watch, or which friends to hang out with(
or most importantly and urgently, how to
handle the ongoing corona virus),—we pray that the counselor we have as
children of God would always be the Holy Spirit.
At this
Mass (where ever you are, virtually in times of pandemic), remember this is our
Upper room. Let us dedicate our life’s mysteries into God’s hands. Let us imitate
our Mother Mary and the apostles, who waited patiently and prayerfully for the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost.
Reflection
Questions
1. How
often do you recognize the importance of prayer and encourage others to pray in
your religious community, especially in this time of pandemic?
2. What
prevents you from engaging in constant prayer?
3. In what
ways do you pray for and concretely encourage the poor and the weak of your society
and neighborhood?
