John sets the prayers in today’s Gospel before Jesus’ Passion - but they apply equally well to this time of Ascension as Jesus prepares to leave the work he has begun in the hands of His disciples.

 

He begins, however, with a prayer directed to the Father which speaks of the glorification which is to come. As it stands in the Gospel, that glorification is to be shown by His death and resurrection. Through His work - and by His death and resurrection, Jesus has been glorified and this is, in turn, has glorified the Father. This is not a man who sees His forthcoming death as failure but as something radical and filled with power. This glorification - in death, in resurrection and now in Ascension, marks the end of His earthly ministry and Jesus prays for those to whom He is entrusting the mission.

 

God has chosen these people from the world and given them to Jesus so that they should learn that He was from God and that all He said and did was of God.

Having accepted this, they will continue the work of proclaiming and building the Kingdom.

 

Jesus knows the size of the task He is entrusting to them - and so He prays for them - He will not be there to protect them or instruct them any further. They will be left to face the world on their own. As we saw last week, however, Jesus return to the Father was not to be an abandonment - but a prelude to something new for the disciples. When Jesus returned to the Father, the Holy Spirit was sent into the disciples as an eternal Guide and Advocate. The gift of the Spirit has been handed through the life of the Church from generation to generation - as one generation laid hands upon the next - until our day.

 

The Coming of the Spirit changed the lives of the first disciples forever - charging them with words and actions which changed the world.

 

What does it mean for me?

 

What gifts do we need to continue the work that Jesus started?

 

What gifts does our own parish community need?

© 2005 Wellspring

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