Reflection for Sunday 1st June 2025

The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Ezekiel 36.24-28, Acts 16.16-34, John 17.20-26

There’s a wonderful word in our readings today: togetherness.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus prays for us—all of us—"that they may all be one.” It’s a bold prayer, and a costly one. Unity doesn’t come by accident, nor is it achieved by pretending differences don’t exist. It’s forged in grace, rooted in Christ, and only possible through the love of God poured into our hearts.

Ezekiel’s vision reminds us of the source of such love. God promises to gather His people, cleanse them, and give them new hearts—not hearts of stone, but living hearts, attuned to His Spirit. This is no vague spiritualism. It's the promise of baptismal grace and the ongoing conversion of our lives into something more whole, more holy.

And then there’s Paul and Silas—unjustly beaten, jailed, yet singing hymns at midnight. When the earthquake comes and the prison doors fly open, they don’t escape. Instead, they bring freedom to someone else: the jailer. Their faith becomes the means by which another household is set free and reborn.

These stories call us to live differently. To live for Christ is to live for one another. In a world that prizes individualism, Jesus calls us to unity. Not uniformity, but a communion of love shaped by truth.

What does that mean for us here? It means praying not just for our own concerns, but for the life of the Church. It means resisting the easy divisions and working instead for reconciliation. It means standing with one another in song and in suffering, and holding fast to the hope that God is making all things new.

This unity Christ prays for is not some optional extra. It’s the sign to the world that love is real, grace is powerful, and God is among us.

Blessings and prayers,

Emma