The Real Meaning of Obedience

For those of us who observed the Ascension on Thursday, here is the Seventh Sunday of Easter synopsis/explanation.



The real meaning of
Obedience - doing the
Will of God



June 5 - 7th. Sunday of Easter



No surprise that there should be a note of eager expectation in today's Readings - Pentecost is just around the corner. But, we must not forget the great Man who preceded the Spirit and promised to send the Spirit: our Divine Master. This is clear from the Opening Prayer ( which rarely gets the attention it deserves even though it frequently sets the tone of the rest of the liturgy). Today it does just that and especially in the magnificent alternative Prayer: "Eternal Father . . . your Son has saved us in history by rising from the dead so that, transcending time, he might free us from death."


The First Reading continues on from last Sunday as Luke recounts how the little band of Jesus' followers returned from the scene of the Ascension to await the fulfillment of his promise. The Responsorial Psalm has a note of confident expectation but not over-confident - the fulfillment of the divine promise has not yet appeared to sweep the first Christians off their feet. We find this same tone in the Second Reading: rejoice, yes, but because "you share in the sufferings of Christ." Things will be different in a short time but for now there is the moment of expectation.



John the Evangelist wrote a Gospel like the other three but markedly different - no onder his symbol is an eagle, while the other three are represented by animals. This extract is part of the Lord's farewell discourse at the Last Supper. Outside the supper-room his enemies are planning his death and he knows it, but there is no fear in his voice only affection for his doubting followers and full awareness of his own identity and of the perfection with which he has lived his earthly life. That life is now corning to an end but only to be restored and to expand to infinity after his Resurrection. An interesting phrase in this extract from John 17 is: "Now this is eternal life that they should know you, the only true God and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ." The word "know" in this context really means to "love" or even "to be part of." We are not destined to travel around Paradise admiring effigies and portraits of God but will be actual sharers in His divine life. And how will this happen? We believe it will happen if we prepare to be part of Him on earth. And how do we prepare? By doing His will in our daily lives. Living to the best of our knowledge and ability the way He wants during our so-called "ordinary" days (not so ordinary when we realize their potential !)_we enter eternity already sharers in the life of God because we have identified with His wishes to the best of our ability.