Saying goodbye to loved ones is often very hard. This is especially true when that goodbye may be a final one. St. John has several chapters in his Gospel dedicated to Jesus saying goodbye to his disciples just before his passion and death on the cross. As we have over the past two Sundays, we hear again in today’s Gospel a portion of that final discourse, and it summarizes his teaching while also expressing his concern that they be prepared for his absence. Jesus’ aim is to convince the disciples that his going is for the best, and that in his wake they will receive the Spirit – as we heard last week and will celebrate next week, Pentecost Sunday – and this Spirit will empower them to continue his mission on earth.
As we heard in today’s Gospel, part of Jesus’ farewell is in the form of a long prayer that at once gives thanks for the work he has done to glorify his Father, and looks forward to that moment of his own glorification which he will freely share with his disciples. Here, St. John returns to the language of the prologue of his gospel. Jesus, the divine Word of God, sets aside his eternal glory to make it known to the world so that when he takes it up again in the resurrection, that glory would be shared with his followers.
So what is his glory? It is the eternal life he shares with the Father and that he now offers to his disciples – it is life in abundance. In reading this passage, we get a deep sense of accomplishment as Jesus prays and looks forward to his return to the Father.
As we gather on this Seventh Sunday of Easter, how does this passage speak to us? As Jesus’ disciples in the world today, we can find strong encouragement in our relationship with him. Notice how Jesus speaks of the original disciples with great affection and care. He has the same love and care for us. I cannot overemphasize the importance of that relationship that Jesus has with us. Even as the second reading from the first Letter of Saint Peter reminds us today that we may have to struggle and even suffer in this world, promise of the glory of the next life is what keeps us focused and faithful in this life.
In fact, today’s second reading calls us to see our sufferings as a share in the sufferings of Christ. And as Christ’s sufferings led to the glory of the resurrection, so, too, our sufferings will lead to a share in the glory of the risen Christ.
Our first reading gives us another important insight into the life of the Church, the followers of Christ, and how it has continued its mission these 2,000 years. You see that, after Jesus ascended into heaven – as we celebrated this past Thursday – the disciples, along with some women, notably Mary, the mother of Jesus, devoted themselves with one accord in prayer. Notice, they didn’t scatter, returning to their own homes and everyday lives. No, they came together in that Upper Room, where they had celebrated the Last Supper – the first Eucharist – to be with one another. And, they prayed. Although the Church has done many good things down through the ages – building schools and hospitals, orphanages and old folks homes – and all of these are very important signs of the life of the Church, it is in gathering together to celebrate the Eucharist – which the Second Vatican Council so accurately called the source and summit of our faith – that the Church receives both its vitality and its mission.
We gather here to worship God because we believe that his Son has, indeed, been raised from the dead. For us, there is no final farewell; just a “see you later in heaven!” And, in the meantime, as we take leave of each other at the end of Mass, we go, strengthened by the Holy Spirit of God, to glorify God in our daily lives.