Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away; and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Today's Song of Praise is taken from Psalm 27 ( Ps 27:1, 4, 7-8):
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
Of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
And contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
Have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Today's Epistle is from the 1st Letter of Peter, beginning at the 4th Chapter, and the 13thVerse (1 Peter 4:13-16):
But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief-maker; yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God
+ A Reading from the Gospel of John, beginning at the 17th Chapter, and the 1st Verse (John 17:1-11):
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do; and now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made. "I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word. Now they know that everything that thou hast given me is from thee; for I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine; all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
I have a problem with the new, post-1970 Roman Calendar -- "Ordinary Sundays". It makes them sound & feel so, well . . . ordinary. Instead of the feeling of anticipation and eagerness we should have when looking forward to meeting the Lord on the Sabbath, there is this niggling idea: "Oh, just another ordinary sunday -- why bother?"
The Liturgical Cycle, which in the West begins on the First Sunday of Advent, is a year-long meditation, to go along with the daily prayers and meditation of the Office of Readings (ancient term: Breviary) and the weekly cycle of the Rosary. Each season of the year should have a focus on the works of the Church and Salvation.
Advent is the hush of wintertime -- all nature, it seems, holds its breath, in anticipation of the wonder to come.
At Christmas -- Christ's Mass -- all the choirs of Angels sing out, lauding the Glory of the Incarnate Savior.
In Epiphanytide, we celebrate the Revelation of the Word to all peoples.
In Lent, we look inwards and outwards both, seeing how we and our world depart from the holiness and wonder that is the Lord's. We meditate on the coming Sacrifice which will save us.
During Holy Week, we watch in awe the unfolding of the great drama of Salvation that is at the center of our Faith -- first the pain, horror, and degradation of the Passion -- culminating in the Death upon the Cross. God Himself, in the Person of the Son, dying for us and our sins.
Then the dead silence of Friday night and Saturday.
And the glorious pealing of the Good News (Evangelion) -- He is Risen! He is Really Risen! He who died for us is Risen, and in Rising, he carries us out of our merely ordinary lives and ordinary sins -- and brings us as an offering to the Father, in Love.
Eastertide, which ends with this week, is the time of preparation for the Descent of the Holy Spirit -- the birthday of the Church.
The season of Pentecost (Old English: Whitsuntide -- White Sunday Time, from the use of white vestments with vivid red markings) is then a time when we meditate on and pray about the work in the world which the Spirit prepares us for, and urges us to.
In today's first reading, we see the Apostles and Jesus' closest friends and family returning to Jerusalem just after the Ascension:
"They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
And so they go back the 3/4 mile or so (a Sabbath day's walk) to Jerusalem, and pray together -- giving thanks, and seeking in their hearts for the meaning of the wonderful thing they had seen. There are 11 Apostles named -- they are short one, because Judas Iscariot has done away with himself in guilt at his betrayal.
The fruit of the Spirit in their prayers is the decision to choose another man to replace Iscariot, and they do, choosing Matthias, on whom they lay hands, and over whom they pray. It is very clear here that the Apostles have the power and authority -- given them by Jesus -- to create further Apostles and successors (those we now call Bishops), and to order the affairs of the Church as they see fit.
In today's Epistle, St. Paul talks about the two poles of Christian experience -- suffering and glory. We suffer in the darkness of sin and ignorance in this imperfect, limited world, and yet have faith that we shall rejoice and be glad it Eternity with Him. As Paul says: "...if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God."
We live in an imperfect world -- we are all "...wrong-doers and mischief-makers...", even though we will otherwise. We have the Faith that we can rise above this, though, because Jesus -- who is God and the Son of God, has promised to send us a Comforter, and a helper, who will strengthen and guide us through the pitfalls. The Holy Spirit is coming -- always coming, always here, always was -- with us.
Today's Gospel shows Jesus making his final Prayers to the Father, as he is preparing to return to Eternity. He prays that the Apostles and Disciples (and us, for we have received from them the Faith that Jesus taught) may be glorified as He is glorified: "...for they are thine; all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. " He is proud of them, He blesses them, He sends them into the world. The Father had given these men to him to train and form in the Faith, and he returns them to the Father,
And here is His promise to us, through the Apostles: "Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24)
Let us pray then, that the Spirit may fill us with the Fire that He gave to the Apostles, that we, like them, can go forth and transform the world . . .
In the Name of the Father + And of the Son + And of the Holy Spirit + Amen.