BIBLE STUDY # 90
SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 20, 2012


READING 1
ACTS 1:15-17, 20A, 20C-26



Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers
--there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons

in the one place --.

He said, "My brothers,

the Scripture had to be fulfilled

which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand

through the mouth of David, concerning Judas,

who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.

He was numbered among us

and was allotted a share in this ministry.



"For it is written in the Book of Psalms:

May another take his office.



"Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men

who accompanied us the whole time

the Lord Jesus came and went among us,

beginning from the baptism of John

until the day on which he was taken up from us,

become with us a witness to his resurrection."

So they proposed two, Judas called Barsabbas,

who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.

Then they prayed,

"You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,

show which one of these two you have chosen

to take the place in this apostolic ministry

from which Judas turned away to go to his own place."

Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,

and he was counted with the eleven apostles.



The Word of the Lord






READING 2


1JOHN 4:11-16



Beloved, if God so loved us,

we also must love one another.

No one has ever seen God.

Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,

and his love is brought to perfection in us.



This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,

that he has given us of his Spirit.

Moreover, we have seen and testify

that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.

Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,

God remains in him and he in God.

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.



God is love, and whoever remains in love

remains in God and God in him.



The Word of the Lord






GOSPEL


JOHN 17:11B-19




Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:

"Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,

so that they may be one just as we are one.

When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,

and I guarded them, and none of them was lost

except the son of destruction,

in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I am coming to you.

I speak this in the world

so that they may share my joy completely.

I gave them your word, and the world hated them,

because they do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world

but that you keep them from the evil one.

They do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,

so I sent them into the world.

And I consecrate myself for them,

so that they also may be consecrated in truth."



The Gospel of the Lord






Reflection



Today’s reading is part of what is commonly known as Jesus’ high priestly prayer that he prays right before he is arrested. This prayer is an intercession with his Father for the present and the future of the disciples.

There are three reasons why Jesus prays for them:



1. The disciples belong to the Father and therefore they also belong to the Son; they are the Father’s gift to the Son and are precious to him;

2. the disciples are glorified in Jesus because they share in his life and love and they acknowledge Jesus for who he is;

3. He is concerned for them since he is leaving them behind.



Jesus wants one special gift for his disciples, one thing he prays for, and that is a life of intimacy and communion with himself and with the Father. The first expression of this is when Jesus prays, “Keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.” Keep them in your name refers to the Father is so far as he communicates himself (his life and love) to the Son. The disciples are to be one with the Father just as Jesus is one with the Father. God gives them life through their faith in Jesus, through the word they have received.



Jesus also prays that we are to be kept safe from ‘the world,’ that is from sin and unbelief and also from the evil one. He doesn’t ask that we be taken out of the world, just to be protected and to be in communion with the Father.



Jesus addresses God as ‘holy,’ an Old Testament description of God. Being holy is not just one aspect of God, it is God’s very essence, and it’s that which makes him God, it is his uncreated life, his love, and his power. He is holy because he is infinitely above sin above all that is weak and evil. He manifests this holiness to his disciples by sharing his life and love with us through Jesus, and we can become holy. This is how God sanctifies us. Jesus is the “Holy One of God” who shares fully in the Father’s life and love and reveals that life and love to us.



So far, Jesus’ disciples have been able to maintain their relationship with the Father through Jesus, except Judas, the son of destruction, who has been lost because he fell under the influence of Satan and through his betrayal has severed his life saving relationship with Jesus.



Far from being saddened by the immanent departure of Jesus, the disciples should feel the joy that is given them through their relationship with the Father through Jesus and the promise of eternal life.



Jesus prays that we are “consecrated in the truth”. The truth is the self revelation of the Father in the person of Jesus. We hear the word of God, are sanctified by our relationship to the Father through the Son that protects us from sin and unbelief and this is what makes us holy. This holiness is what makes us able to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus.



Knowing he is leaving to go back to the Father, he sends us out to continue his mission and ministry, to preach the Good News. We are sanctified, that is, fully armed and fully prepared to be his witnesses in the world. Jesus is sanctified (consecrated) through his life, death and resurrection and he fully belongs to the Father. This obedience is the source and model for us, since we are sanctified in the Father through Jesus and we too fully belong to the Father.



In the first reading from Acts, Peter and the other disciples decide that they need to replace Judas, who betrayed Jesus. The symbolism is that church constitutes the new Israel, the 12 apostles represent the 12 tribes of Israel. The apostles had a specific ministry, and someone needs to replace Judas to carry on that apostolic ministry. It does seem frivolous that they cast lots, but they trusted and loved God so much that they felt sure that God would be made known to them his will regardless of the way they chose to select this new apostle. They had 2 men who were both qualified, and God let it be known that Matthias was to be the new apostle.



In the second reading from the first letter of John, we are told that God loves us, and we must love one another. We are to remain in God’s love. The way we do this is to acknowledge the Son sent by God as the savior and as the Son of God and we will remain in God’s love. In other words, loving God requires that we express our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus is the ultimate expression of how we are to love: by giving everything for God and for others.


Fr. Phil