7th Sunday of Easter, Year C
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 97:1-2, 6-7, 9 (1a, 9a)
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20
John 17:20-26
June 1, 2025
Jesus knows He is about to be arrested. He knows He will be beaten, mocked, scourged, and crucified.
Knowing this, He lifted up “his eyes to heaven” and prayed. While He knows what is coming, his prayer at this moment is not for himself. The world might say He should be only concerned for himself but that is not Jesus’ way.
At that moment, Jesus is praying for his disciples and “or those who will believe in him through their word. We believe in Jesus because of their word. At that moment, Jesus is praying for us.
He is about to be crucified and He is praying for us. There can be no doubt that He loves us.
I think of those who, when they are dying, are thinking of others. They are praying for their children who are on their way to see them before their passing. They are praying for their own death to not be too difficult for their family and friends. Who do you think you will be praying for at the time of your death?
What is Jesus praying about for us?
He is praying that we may be one. He is not just praying that we “get along.” He is praying for true unity between all his people. This can only come when we seek to do not our own will but rather to do the will of our Father in Heaven.
Jesus doesn’t just pray that we be one with each other. He is praying that we may be in Him and the Father, that we may be brought to perfection as one. He prays, “I wish that where I am they also may be with me.” He wants us to be in Heaven. He wants his love to be in us and for him to abide in us.
He wants us to have to have a personal relationship with us. As Catholics, we have not tended to speak in terms of “having a personal relationship with Jesus” but we all do. Sometimes it is a poor relationship. Sometimes it is superficial at best. Sometimes we keep Jesus at a distant when we should seek to be in his embrace.
We need to seek to be like Jesus.
That’s what Stephen did. The people were preparing to stone him. He was about to die. What did Stephen do?
He followed the example of Jesus.
“Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God.” Through his faith in Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven was opened to him. Clearly, he had a personal relationship with our Lord.
Those trying to stone him did not. They rejected Jesus. Because they had already rejected Jesus, Stephen’s words sounded like blasphemy to them. So, “they cried out in a loud voice, covered their eyes, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.” Because they had rejected Jesus, they also rejected Stephen. Who do you know who rejects you? Are they actually rejecting you or do they only reject you because you accept Jesus?
Stephen’s last words mirror those of Jesus. “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (see Luke 23:46). “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (see Luke 23:34).
Will your final words be words of condemnation against those who have hurt you or will your final words be words of forgiveness for them and surrender to Jesus?
You have to let go of the hurt and the anger before you can enter Heaven.
You have to let go of your own sins before you can enter Heaven “through its gates.” For, as the Lord, said to John, “I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds.”
“According to his deeds…” Sin brings punishment. If you want to be freed from the consequences of your sin, if you want to enter Heaven, you must have your robe washed in the Blood of the Lamb. You must hand your sins over to God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Yes, I know it is hard to forgive. Ask for the grace. Let God change you and you will be saved.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff
P.S. If you find it hard to forgive others or yourself, you might watch my presentation, Why Is It So Hard to Forgive Myself (and others).