Acts
20:17-27 / John 17:1-11
Jesus prays: Jesus looked up to heaven while he prayed.
Three
preachers were discussing the best posture to use while praying. The first
said, “I’ve tried them all, and kneeling is still the best posture.” The second
said, “That may be true, but most Eastern mystics recommend sitting
cross-legged on the floor.”
The
third said, “I pray best looking heavenward,” as Jesus does in today’s gospel. An
electrician, working nearby, overheard the preachers and said to them, “For
what it’s worth, the best prayer I ever prayed was in none of those postures.
It was hanging upside down by one leg from an electric pole in a thunderstorm.”
When
it comes to praying, there are as many postures as there are pray-ers. The
important thing is finding the posture that works best for you.
****
What
posture do we find to be best for our daily prayer?
“Come,
let us bow down in worship.” Psalm 95:6
****
If
we were to look up the definition of what life is all about, it may be said
that life is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic
matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity,
and continual change preceding death. That is a scientific definition and it
does not tell us more about the dynamics and the meaning of life. That will be
more personal and subjective as each of us will have our own personal view of
life and what we think of it.
For
St. Paul, this is his view of life as he puts it in the 1st reading: Life to me
is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race, I have
carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me - and that was to bear witness
to the Good News of God's grace.
St.
Paul may be saying that life is not to be spent talking about the unnecessary
thing or having too many unnecessary reflections. To him, life is like a race,
the time is short, and the urgency is to bear witness to the Good News of God's
grace.
In
the gospel, we hear Jesus saying a long prayer to the Father and many words
were used. But the words of Jesus are not personal musings or abstract
reflections. The words of Jesus are not words about life but words of life and
words that give life.
His words lead us to eternal life
because He is the Word of God. May our words also bear witness to the Good News
of God's grace and may our words also lead others to Jesus, the Word of God.
****
Tuesday, Easter -VII
Introduction
In strikingly parallel ways, both Paul and Christ speak
of the mission they have carried out—Christ with absolute certainty, Paul,
knowing his limitations, to the best of his abilities. Paul knows that trials
are awaiting him, but led by the Holy Spirit who guided his life, he will go
ahead, even when he does not know what is awaiting him. Jesus has given the
best of himself to make the Father known to all. He prays that they may all be
one.
Penitential
Rite
-“I served the Lord with all
humility and with the tears and trials that came to me” says Paul. Beyond our
lack of humility and forbearance
-“I earnestly bore witness for
both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.”,
says Paul. Beyond our lack of faith
-“I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may
finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear
witness to the Gospel of God's grace.”, says Paul. Beyond our lack of
witnessing,
Opening Prayer
Lord, our God, your Son, Jesus Christ, carried out the
mission you had given him, without fear and in all faithfulness to you. God,
give us a bit of his sense of mission. Give us the strength of the Spirit to
speak your Word as it is, bold and demanding, without compromising or giving in
to the changing moods and fashions of the day. And may our lives be like an
open book in which people can read your
Word. We ask you this through Christ,
our Lord.
Homily
Reflection
So many race the
darkness to gain a prize unknown;
they stumble on
deceptive paths and curse each upturned stone.
To those more
blest is given the Spirit's constant light;
it does not smooth
the rocky road but sets their course aright.
Spirit of Truth, let not our fear of adversity blind us to or deter us from our
mission. We accept our role in renewing the face of our families, our Church and our earth, but rely on your
guidance and protection. Be the light of
our lives as we follow the way of the Lord. Amen.
General Intercessions
–For the Church, that the Spirit may help it carry
without compromise or hesitation, the task of making Christ’s name known in
today’s world, we pray:
– For our
Christian communities, that the Holy Spirit may help us to keep and live the
Gospel as Good News, we pray:
– For all
and each of us, that the Spirit may make us more aware that we belong to Christ
and that Christ loves us deeply, we pray:
Prayer after Communion
Lord, our God, we pray to you today for a deep sense of
mission. Through the Spirit of your Son, give us the courage to accept the
challenge of being responsible for our brothers and sisters. Let your Son
encounter people through us and break to them the bread of your Word and your
life. We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.
