Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Carrying Out One’s Mission
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
In strikingly parallel ways, both Paul and Christ speak of their mission they have carried out – Christ with absolute certainty, Paul, knowing his limitations, to the best of his abilities. Paul knows that trials await him, but, led by the Holy Spirit who guides his life, he will go ahead, even when he does not know what lies ahead. Jesus has given the best of himself to make the Father known to all. He prays that they may all be one.
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.
First Reading
Farewell to the Ephesians
From Miletus, Paul sent word to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the church. When they arrived, he addressed them:
You know how I lived among you from the first day I entered the province of Asia;
how I served the Lord with humility despite the sorrows and trials caused by the Jews.
You know that I never hesitated to do anything that could benefit you; I spoke openly and in your homes;
and I urged both Jews and non-Jews to turn to God and believe in our Lord Jesus.
But now I am going to Jerusalem, chained by the Spirit, without knowing what will happen to me there.
Yet in every city, the Holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and troubles await me.
Indeed, I don’t value my life much; I only want to finish my race and complete the service the Lord Jesus has given me—to proclaim the good news of God’s grace.
I now feel confident that none of you, among whom I have been spreading the message of the kingdom of God, will ever see me again.
Therefore, I tell you today that my conscience is clear regarding all of you.
For I have spared no effort in fully proclaiming God’s will to you.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will ask the Father
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you always.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus’ Priestly Prayer
After saying this, Jesus looked up to heaven and said:
“Father, the hour has come! Give glory to your Son so that the Son may give glory to you.
You have given him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you have entrusted to him.
For this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
So now, Father, give me the glory I had with you before the world began.
I have made your name known to those you’ve given me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you.
I have given them the teaching you gave me, and they accepted it. They know in truth that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me.
I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those who belong to you and whom you have given to me.
Indeed, all I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and I have been glorified in them.
I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me in your name, so that they may be one as we are one.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For the Church, that the Spirit may help it carry our without compromise or hesitation the task of making Christ’s name known to 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 over the Gifts
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We sit at the table of Jesus
And through him, we are one with you.
Make us deeply aware
that Jesus has given us
the people around us
to make your name known to them.
Help us to care for them
because they belong to you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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.
Blessing
With Jesus and like Paul, may we say with gratitude that we have carried out our task in life, the work God gave us to do, and may God forgive us where we failed. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
John 17:1-11
Hallowed be thy name!
The Gospel of John presents us with Jesus’ prayer to the Father in the context of his farewell address, known as the “priestly prayer.” This is one of the most solemn moments in Jesus’ life. John places the priestly prayer immediately after the “Farewell Speech” and right before the passion of Jesus.
Jesus is aware that his earthly mission is coming to an end. He “raises his eyes to heaven” and asks that his mission reach its fulfilment with the glorification of the Father. Throughout his Gospel, John does not aim to chronologically record the events of Jesus’ life. Instead, he employs an overheard conversation between Jesus and God the Father to instruct and inspire his believing community at the end of the first century.
These words are from John, who personally knew Jesus and had the privilege of sharing in many of Jesus' intimate thoughts and words. Earlier in the discourse, Jesus urged the disciples to ask God for what they truly desired: "In fact, I assure you that the Father will give you anything you ask of him in my name." Their asking was not meant to inform an absent-minded God but to clarify their true desires. After the discourse, Jesus provides his own example by praying to the Father.
Through his prayer, Jesus shares his innermost desires with the Father. It strengthens his resolve to confront his upcoming death with unwavering determination. Additionally, Jesus’ prayer clearly shows the intense passion burning within him. The signs that he had worked, the dialogues and discussions in which he was involved, and the discourses he had given were all done to make the Father known and glorify the Father.
The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew and Luke’s Gospels finds a much more personalised version here in John. Instead of saying, “Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” John would prefer to use the words as, ‘I have glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do’!
The words of Jesus’ prayer would have been a source of comfort and assurance for the members of John’s community who were facing persecution and rejection. Is it not comforting to learn that Jesus himself prays on our behalf to the Father?