As some dioceses transfer the feast of the Ascension
of the Lord, which is on Thursday of the sixth week of Paschaltide, to the
Seventh Sunday of Paschaltide, followed by celebrating Pentecost on the eighth
Sunday, the celebration of the Seventh Sunday of Paschaltide may be forgotten
by some.
The Seventh Sunday of Paschaltide falls between
Ascension and Pentecost, the Second and the Third Glorious Mysteries of the
Holy Rosary. Therefore, this last Paschaltide Sunday before Pentecost Sunday
reflects how the disciples remained together, getting ready to receive the Holy
Spirit on Pentecost, to be born anew as the Ekklesia,
which means being called upon. And, it
is the original Church, as One Body of Christ with many parts (1 Corinthians
12:27; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:15; Romans 12:5; Ephesians 5:30; Colossians 1:18).
Wait! The body of the risen Christ has ascended into
heaven. Then, how come there will be the body of Christ again?
A good question about the Christological mystery
upon Paschal Mystery, which covers from the virgin conception to ascension of
Jesus through his birth, death, and resurrection! And it deserves some
explanation.
The whole body of the risen Jesus certainly ascended
to heaven, where he is reunited with the Father. But, this reunification is on
the level of physicality. Even Christ had been away from the Father to be on
earth with the disciples in the human flesh of Jesus of Nazarene, the son of
Mary, he had been with the Father as one. Thus, whether Christ the Son was
physically with the Father in heaven or not for physically being with the
disciples on earth, he remained with the Father all the time. And the
Father-Son oneness remains immutable regardless where the body of Christ may be
found. This is a very important Christological and theological truth to
remember for us to appreciate Ascension and Pentecost in relation to John
14-17, Jesus’ Last Supper Discourse and Prayer.
Jesus first publically revealed his Christological
identity of oneness with the Father toward the end of his Good Shepherd
discourse in response to those who were blind to recognize the messianic
authority of Jesus. Then, he reiterated this
Christological identity with the Father during his Last Supper Farewell
Discourse and Prayer (John 14-17) again and again to reveal Trinity by
introducing the Holy Spirit as another Parakletos,
while Jesus Christ himself is the Parakletos,
which literally means one who is called to stay besides. He introduced the Holy
Spirit as another Parakletos so that
his Christological identity as being one with the Father can be understood in
the context of Trinity. Thus, Trinity was introduced and reflected in his
discourse and prayer at Last Supper.
And he did it all to unite the disciples, us, to him, who is one with
the Father in Trinity. Therefore, the Holy Spirit, as another Parakletos can come to us after
Ascension.
Until Ascension, the Parakletos was found in the
human body of Jesus, before and after his death and resurrection. Upon Pentecost,
the disciples, who were promised by Jesus to be accompanied by another Parakletos (John 14:16, 26), have become
the Ekklesia, the Church. Both Parakletos and Ekklesia are called being, because both of these New Testament
Greek words share the common derived word, “kaleo”,
which means “to call”, associated with “keleuo”,
which means “to command”. Now, therefore, the disciples are called (commanded) to
become the one body of Parakletos, who
is Christ (1 John 2:1) with many functioning parts, loaded with many gifts of
the Holy Spirit, as reflected in 1 Corinthians 12.
Therefore, the Seventh Sunday of Paschaltide
reflects this critical period of transition from the physical presence of the Parakletos to the physical presence of
new Parakletos, whose body is the Ekklesia, born with another Parakletos, the Holy Spirit, on the day
of Pentecost. Through the Holy Spirit,
another Parakletos, we become the Ekklesia,
the very body of the Parakletos, the
Christ. And, it is only possible as, we, the disciples become one with Christ,
who is one with the Father, as one body (John 14:20; 15:1-9; 17:21). And, we celebrate this transitional Sunday
prayerfully, reflecting Jesus’ Last Supper prayer in John 17.
For Cycle A, the Gospel Reading for the Seventh
Sunday of Paschaltide is drawn from John 17:1-11a. Though the physical presence
of the risen Christ has departed the earth, we read this in remembering his
presence on earth. As the entire John 17 has been known as Jesus’ high priestly
prayer, this Gospel reading to mark the last Paschaltide Sunday before
Pentecost, after Ascension reflects the climax of his ministries as the eternal
high priest in the Melchizedek’s order (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 7:17, 24; cf. Psalm
110), to whom the Father calls as His Son to glorify him (Hebrew 5:5; cf. Psalm
2:7), reflected in His voice upon his Baptism (Matthew 3:17//Mark 1:11//Luke
3:22). And, he is the high priest of mercy and faithfulness in service of God
(Hebrews 2:17), offering up himself for our sins (Hebrews 7:27), being made
perfect among sons of God, among those who were appointed as judges and ordained
as high priests (Hebrews 7:28; cf Psalm 82:6).
Jesus begins his prayer with these words, “Father, the hour has come”(John 17:1).
It means that the time for his glorification through his death, resurrection,
and ascension, has begun, so that the Father, who sent him to the earth on his
priestly mission, is glorified. It also signals the coming of trials not only
for Christ himself through his passion and death but also for the disciples,
and us, who are to follow the way of Jesus as they have done. Therefore, Jesus’
high priestly prayer in John 17 before his arrest is to ensure that his
disciples can ensure all trials while they carry on his mission works. And for
us, likewise.
First, Jesus reflects that the glorification of the
Father is brought by the consummation of his mission (John 17:4), and this
mission is completed through connecting those ministered by him to the Father
through eternal life (John 17:2-3). Jesus began teaching about eternal life
when he was speaking to Nicodemus (John 3:15), indicating that it may be given
to us through his Son, Christ, as a sign of His love (John 3:16). He also
taught on eternal life through the Living Bread of Life, which is him (John
6:51). He also taught that eternal life is given through the Good Shepherd
(John 10:28). And, he has revealed that it is he himself (John 14:6). That is
why he called us to be with him (John 14:20), as the branches are securely attached
to the vine, because being one with the eternal life enables us to be fruitful (John
15:1-10).
Then, Jesus specifically prays for the disciples,
us, his sheep – those whom given to him by the Father (John 17:9; cf. 10:29).
And, we, as the disciples, are the ones, to whom Jesus revealed the Father
(John 17:6) through him (John 14:9-21, 23-16:16, 17-28, 31-33). And we are from
God the Father (John 17:7) and also of Jesus’ because of our belonging to the
Father (John 16:15).
In his prayer to the Father for his disciples, us, as
the hour for his glorification is imminent, his return to Him is nearing, upon his
death and resurrection, having completed all his earthly priestly mission,
except for his passion, death, and resurrection, to fulfill the Scriptures (Isaiah
52:13-53:12), Jesus , Christ the Son, the Parakletos,
was asking for the Father’s care for them and us through another Parakletos, the Holy Spirit coming to
the world on Pentecost, just as He sent the Son to the world out of His love
(John 3:16). This way, before he departs on Ascension, he knows that his
beloved disciples, with whom he is one as he is so with the Father, always have
the Parakletos.
And
now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am
coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so
that they may be one just as we are (John 17:11)
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