The Seventh Sunday of Easter

John 17:1-11a

"I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.  Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began."



There is one week until Pentecost Sunday and it is after the Ascension. The remaining apostles "have kept the Father’s word;" "they have believed that the Father sent Jesus." They witness to God’s glory by enacting their own sort of "triumphal" entry into Jerusalem redolent of Christ’s on Palm Sunday. It was triumphant "when they entered the city" because the Eleven were deeply united in faith and charity, resolved to do the will of the Father. It is not a coincidence the way that their actions mimic those of Jesus; they go to the upper room and there devote themselves to prayer with one accord. As a result of this conviction, persecution is soon to follow, but they will rejoice to the extent that they share in the sufferings of Christ.

This is true of us even today. It is only through suffering that we will have glory. And it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we have the promise of eternal life and ultimately glory.