Introduction
In most of the United States, today is the celebration of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (see separate post for those readings). However, the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and Omaha celebrated the Ascension last Thursday; today they celebrate the 7th Sunday of Easter.
1st Reading – Acts 7:55-60
Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them;”
and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Today’s first reading is the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, one of seven men chosen by the apostles and disciples to serve the church (Acts 6:5). Tradition regards Stephen as the first Christian martyr, an example of fortitude and suffering for the love of Christ.
In many ways, the death of Stephen parallels the death of Jesus. Like his master before him, Stephen made claims that, had they not been true, could well have been considered blasphemous. After a dispute with members of a synagogue, he was arrested (Acts 6:8-15).
The scene we read today occurs just as Stephen finishes addressing the Sanhedrin during the hearing that followed (Acts 7:1-53).
Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
To see God’s glory is to see some manifestation of God’s divinity and God’s saving acts. Stephen sees exactly what we celebrated on the Feast of the Ascension: While Jesus’ followers carry on his mission on earth, Jesus already reigns victorious in heaven.
This vision affirms the content of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin, which was that when they persecuted Jesus they persecuted God’s holy one.
But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
Stephen’s declaration is a scandal to the court. If what Stephen was saying were true, then Jesus’ claims about himself were true and they had wrongfully put Jesus to death.
Lest they begin to agree with Stephen and doubt themselves, they closed their hearts and covered their ears.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The punishment prescribed by the law for blasphemy is stoning outside the camp by those who had witnessed the offense (Leviticus 24:14)
The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
The executioners would have removed their outer garments in order to give themselves freedom of movement. Luke inserts this detail about laying down their cloaks to introduce Paul (Saul), who will be the central figure of the second half of Acts.
Before his conversion, Paul was a persecutor of the Church. After his conversion, Paul became the foremost witness to the Gentiles.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
These words recall Jesus’ words on the cross as they appear in Luke’s gospel (Luke 23:46).
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this,
Another echo of Jesus’ words from the cross (Luke 23:34). The one difference is that while Jesus prayed to God, Stephen prayed to the risen Lord.
Luke is teaching that those like Stephen, who become Jesus’ witnesses to the world, are carrying on Jesus’ own ministry: this is an explicit example of what it meant for Christians to take up the cross and follow Jesus.
he fell asleep.
This is a euphemism for the moment of Stephen’s death.
“Could you keep all God’s commandments were it not for the strength of patience? That was what enabled Stephen to hold out: in spite of being stoned, he did not call down vengeance on his executioners, but rather forgiveness. … How fitting it was for him to be Christ’s first martyr, so that by being, through his glorious death, the model of all the martyrs that would come after him, he should not only be a preacher of the Lord’s Passion, but should also imitate it in his meekness and immense patience” (Saint Cyprian, De bono patientiae, 16).
Stephen’s martyrdom was the beginning of a persecution in Jerusalem that caused many new Christians to flee, thus spreading the Gospel to Judea and Samaria.
2nd Reading – Revelation 22: 12-14, 16-17, 20
I, John, heard a voice saying to me:
“Behold, I am coming soon.
I bring with me the recompense I will give to each
according to his deeds.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
the beginning and the end.”
Blessed are they who wash their robes
so as to have the right to the tree of life
and enter the city through its gates.
“I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.
I am the root and offspring of David,
the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.”
Let the hearer say, “Come.”
Let the one who thirsts come forward,
and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.
The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
Today, the last Sunday of the Easter season, we complete our six-week study of Revelation. This passage, taken from the last verses of the book, continues to offer John’s audience the hope that the book as a whole offers them — the hope that their persecution will not last much longer.
As with all apocalyptic literature, the Book of Revelation is written in code. This is because if any of the persecuted Christians were caught reading the message of hope, they would have been killed.
I, John, heard a voice saying to me: “Behold, I am coming soon.
Jesus, already victorious in heaven, will soon return. For John’s audience, this means their persecution will end soon.
I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds.
The eschatological character of this vision is clear: Jesus will not only come again soon, when he comes, it will be as a judge.
Those who have been faithful to Jesus will, like him, have eternal life. Those who have not, as well as the unbelieving persecutors, will be held accountable for their actions.
Note that Christ will judge everyone not merely according to their faith but also according to their deeds.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
This is the first of two self-disclosive statements (égó eími, “I am”) in this reading. First, he states that he is three things: Alpha-Omega, first-last, beginning-end.
These three things all basically mean the same thing. They are literary devices that name two polar extremes of a certain dimension of reality as a way to encompass everything that exists between those two poles:
- Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, thus the alphabet includes every word that can be constructed from its individual elements;
- “first and last” includes every sequence of time between them;
- “beginning and end” implies the entire action.
God is the beginning and the end of all things; of the world and of history; he is present at all times — past, present, and future (Revelation 1:8).
Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city through its gates.
See Revelation 7:14. The robes washed in the blood of the Lamb are a reference to the fact that the righteous have been cleansed by having applied to them the merits of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Because of Jesus’ redemptive acts they now have “the right to the tree of life,” a rescinding of the prohibition ordained in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22). This means they would now never have to face death; i.e., they have been granted eternal life.
They are now allowed to enter “the city”: the new Jerusalem, the renewed community, the place where God dwells eternally with the faithful.
Their cleansing has taken place, all things have been fulfilled, the final consummation is at hand.
“I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.
In a formal, solemn manner, Jesus Christ addresses believers and confirms the genuineness of the prophetic content of the book.
I am the root and offspring of David, the bright morning star.”
Here we find the second of the two self-disclosive statements (égó eími, “I am”), which reflect messianic titles.
Though the word translated here as “root” can mean “source” or “origin”, it can also denote “branch.” This is probably the intent here, since other passages speak of the Messiah being a young, vigorous shoot that grows out of the ancient trunk of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1). Or perhaps both meanings are intended, to show that the Christ is both the root and the offspring, the Alpha and Omega.
The morning star is another metaphor designating the Messiah. It heralded the dawning of a new day and all the promise this might bring (Numbers 24:17).
(Because of their messianic implications, both “offspring of David” and “morning star” have been preserved in the Advent liturgy as two fo the O Antiphons.)
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.”
The Bride is the Church who, in reply to Christ’s promise of coming soon, ardently desires and prays for his coming.
This prayer is inspired by the Holy Spirit; the voices of both Church and Spirit fusing together in a single cry.
Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.
Every Christian is invited to join in this prayer and discover in the Church the gift of the Spirit, symbolized by the water of life (Revelation 21:6). This git allows the Christian to taste in anticipation the good things of the Kingdom.
The language of this verse reminds us of the liturgical dimension of the Church with its prayer and celebration of the sacraments (life-giving water).
The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Christ himself replies to the supplication of the Church and the Spirit.
This idea occurs seven times in the course of Revelation (2:16; 3:11; 16:15; 22:7,12,17,20), showing that this is a promise which will certainly be kept.
The Greek form of the verb “coming” is known as prophetic present, implying that the future is already in the present.
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
The invocation “Come, Lord Jesus” was so often on the lips and in the hearts of the first Christians that it was even expressed in Aramaic, the language which Jesus and the apostles spoke: Marana-tha (1 Corinthians 16:22; Didache, 10, 6).
Today, translated into the local vernacular, Marana-tha is used in the Memorial Acclamation at Mass, after the elevation of the Eucharist: When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
Commenting on this passage, Pope Saint John Paul II said, among other things:
“Therefore, let Christ be your sure point of reference, let him be the basis of a confidence which knows no vacillation. Let the passionate invocation of the Church, “Come, Lord Jesus!” become the spontaneous sigh of your heart, a heart never content with the present because it always tends towards the ‘not yet’ of promised fulfillment” (Homily, May 18, 1980).
Gospel – John 17:20-26
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“Holy Father, I pray not only for them,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
From the time of Cyril of Alexandria (5th century), John 17:1-26 has been known as the High Priestly Prayer. Every year on the 7th Sunday of Easter, we hear a section of this prayer; this year, in Cycle C, we hear the conclusion.
In the prayer, Jesus speaks of having accomplished his work and of returning to his father; it is clearly a farewell message. The interweaving of various theological themes makes it a rich yet complex prayer.
The prayer takes on profound significance when we realize that Jesus offered it at the Last Supper, shortly before his death.
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed
The action of looking up to heaven as he prays is typical of Jesus (John 11:41, Luke 11:2).
saying: “Holy Father,
In the gospels, Jesus routinely refers to God as Father, a designation that addresses origin. Especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to have used the term in a more intimate manner.
I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
Jesus prays for those who will believe in him through the centuries, including us.
so that they may all be one,
If we look carefully at Jesus’ prayer, we can see both why Jesus wants his followers to remain united (“be one”), and how we might succeed in doing that.
as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us,
Jesus and the Father are one because they love each other. Jesus prays that those who come to believe in him will be one as the Father and the Son are one.
that the world may believe that you sent me.
The reason why unity among Jesus’ followers is all-important is that our ability to witness to Jesus diminishes if we cannot maintain unity with one another.
Jesus names this fact twice in today’s reading: “that the world may believe that you sent me.”
And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one,
Jesus repeats the need for unity for Jesus’ followers with him and God the Father. The source of unity among Christians is not merely the unity of human affection or the bond that is formed by mutual effort and cooperation.
Rather, it is a participation in the mutual love the Father and the Son have for each other.
Jesus, as the one who reveals the Father’s love, does not want his followers simply to know that the Father and Son love each other, but to participate in that love, to live in it themselves.
As we Christians learn to dwell in that love, we will learn to love one another and come to that unity for which Jesus prayed.
that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Jesus repeats the need for unity: “that the world may know that you sent me.”
Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Jesus also prays that his followers may be with him so that they may see his glory.
To see the glory of God is to witness God’s saving acts, to witness some visible manifestation of God’s divinity. In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ glorification is his passion, death, and resurrection, because this is the manifestation of God’s greatest saving act. Through Jesus, God has redeemed the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”
Connections and Themes
Over these past Sundays, we have been considering the various ways the Risen Lord is present in the community as well as the wondrous gifts he has bestowed upon it. Before we move into the mystery of Pentecost, we celebrate the Risen Lord as exalted with God in heaven.
The Lord Exalted. We cannot even begin to fathom what the exaltation of Jesus means. On this Sunday, in our attempt to praise our risen Lord, we compound image upon image, metaphor upon metaphor. Jesus is the king who reigns in heaven; the victorious conqueror of primordial chaos; the one who governs both heaven and earth with justice rather than brute force; the one who elicits rejoicing rather than fear. He is the Son of Man seen by Stephen, standing in heaven in the place of honor at God’s right hand; the one to whom were given dominion and glory and kingship. He is the consummation of all things; the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the beginning and end. He is the long-awaited Messiah who heralded the new day of promise.
Exalted by God. The exaltation of Jesus is a mighty act of God. The imagery from the psalm suggests it is akin to the marvel of creation itself. It is not something Jesus in his human nature could have accomplished on his own: this is an act of God. Jesus had been sent by God as he himself proclaimed, and he returned to God as Stephen testified. God’s exaltation of Jesus is one more impenetrable mystery. Conscious of our own limitations, we might wonder how God can accomplish such things. An even more pressing question is, Why would God act in this way? Why raise to such heights one who shares our human limitations? Why exalt humanity with a share in divinity?
We have no answers to these questions. They are not intended to be answered. Rather, They must be asked again and again so that, in the absence of an answer, we can stand in astonishment and awe, realizing that all we can do is praise God and our exalted Lord.
Our participation in the exaltation. We have heard Jesus described with these images so many times they may have lost their power in our lives. If he is indeed all they imply, why is our faith so weak, and why are our lives so shallow? Stephen prayed to be received into the presence of this exalted Lord, and his prayer was answered. But he is not the only one invited to share in Christ’s exaltation. All who have washed their robes have been given a right to the tree of life and permission to enter the new city through its gates. Jesus prayed for us, not merely for his earliest followers. He wanted us to share in the intimate union that was his with God. It was his wish that we would be with him, that we would share the glory that had been his from the beginning and will be his forever in his exaltation.
This Sunday we ponder these things as we await the power of the Spirit of God, which will soon take hold of us.
Sunday Readings 