Sunday 12/05/24

Seventh Sunday of Easter 

John 17:6-19 Acts 1:15-17; 21-end

The period between Ascension Day and Pentecost is only 9 days but they are important in the life of the Church. They are a liminal space – an in-between time; a space of waiting. Waiting can be difficult. It can be full of expectancy – like the time to wait for the arrival of a loved one – but also anxious, like the time of waiting for the result of a medical test. We can be advised to use the time of waiting well; to make preparations and to continue to live positively. But that is not always easy, especially if bad news is threatening. But waiting still has to happen; it is part of life and we know it. In the Gospel reading, we find the final prayer of Jesus before his arrest. It is a prayer that focusses on his friends, the disciples, who have been with him for a long time and who will have to witness his journey to the cross. It is also a prayer that honours the Father’s name; something that Jesus has been about all along during his ministry. Jesus is making good use of the time he still has with his friends and through his prayers, he helps them to later understand his work of salvation with the promises for the future that will support them in their witness. They needed that very much. These promises include the arrival of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Comforter, who would direct and assist and protect the disciples all the way through in the building up of the Church. But how and when, they could not know until it all happened.

And so we come to this final prayer in John 17, when Jesus refers to making known the name of the Father and praying for his friends in the days to come. He is asking that they be sanctified in truth. This means that they are protected from the evil one, so that their witness and proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ through them may be kept safe and sound, and that they will be trustworthy in it. This will include times of waiting.

Of course, from that moment on, the disciples did not know how long they had to wait for anything that was to happen. They didn’t know, for instance, that the time between the Ascension of Jesus and the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit would be nine days; it could have been much longer or a bit shorter. All they knew from the teaching and prayers that they had heard from Jesus, was that it would happen, and that the Holy Spirit would come. So, what did they do? As we read in Acts, they prepared. They gathered and prayed. They were not passive but active, even working out who was to replace the one among them that they had lost, so their number would be complete. And then the day of Pentecost came.

We are also waiting for the day of Pentecost. In this liminal space, we have several tools to prepare for it anew. One tool is the worldwide prayer movement called Thy Kingdom Come. There is a booklet with reflections for each day, to help us go through the time of waiting, so it becomes infused with expectation and anticipation. We can set these days apart to pray, individually and together, for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so that more people come to know the life-transforming love of God. These may include five (a suggested number but it could be any of your choosing) people who do not yet know the love of God for themselves. The hope is that this journey from Ascension Day to Pentecost becomes a time of refreshment by what we learn; and that we be inspired to meet with God in a new way. So, what are you waiting for? Amen.