Date: May 28, 2020 ()

Bible Text: First Reading ACTS 22:30; 23:6-11; Gospel JN 17:20-26 |

Series:

Jesus: “…that they may be one.”

We find Jesus in the gospel today lifting up his eyes to heaven and saying: “I pray not only for these but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one.”

Besides asking God’s favor, prayer is also about expressing our deepest desires. The Lord’s deepest desire is for all of us is to be in communion with Him and in communion with one another - to gather his people as one.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel called out to Israel. “Thus says the LORD: ‘I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation. (EZ 37:21-22)”. It has always been God’s desire to gather his people as one and for this, we recall Jesus the Son, sent by the Father, calling the Twelve to become His co-workers for this tedious work of gathering the flock; thus, we have this One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

In the event of His ascension into heaven, our Lord left His most important will and testament commissioning His disciples to go to the ends of the world to make disciples of Him, precisely so that they may follow the One Lord. The commandment came with His assurance that He will be with His disciples until the end of time.
It was a true promise. Paul in our first reading could already attest to the trustworthiness of God’s word. “The following night the Lord stood by him (Paul) and said, “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome (Acts 23:11)”. God is with us in this continuing mission of gathering His people.

Meanwhile, in the gospel, Jesus also calls His disciples as gifts to Him. And, for all of us who became His disciples and His church, we are gifts to Jesus in a manner that Paul and the rest of the apostles offered their lives as gifts to the Lord. In concrete, what we do for the Lord can be our gift to Him. Jesus once said: “Those who are with me, gather! Let us join Jesus in his desire: “that they may be one.”