Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: John 17:1-11a
After saying this, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come! Give glory to your Son, that the Son may give glory to you. You have given him power over all  humanity, so that he may give eternal life to all those you entrusted to him. For this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the One you sent, Jesus Christ.I have glorified  you on earth and finished the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, give me, in your presence, the same glory I had with you before the world began.I have made your name known to those  you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they kept your word. And now they know that whatever you entrusted to me, is indeed from you. I have given them the teaching I received from you, and they accepted it, and know in truth that I came from you; and they believe that you sent me.I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for  those who belong to you, and whom you have given to me. Indeed all I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and now they are my glory. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the  world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me in your name, so that they may be one, as we also are.

Reflections
“You have given him power over all humanity.”Jesus says his priestly prayer to the Father. In his prayer, he talks about his own glorification and that of the Father. Glorification here  means giving eternal life to those who acknowledge him as the Son of God. Jesus mentions his mission on earth which is none other than to glorify the Father as he makes him known to the peo­ple. He makes God’s presence vi­sible through his own bodily pre­sence. He has also communicated to them his teachings which are readily received by his disciples.Jesus prays for his  disciples’ safety. He wants them always to stay in his fold, never to wander away from God. He prays most of all for their unity. Jesus desires the best for his disciples. They are the  fruits of his mission.The prayer of Jesus is dubbed as Christian prayer for unity. The unity that God wills for us his dis­ciples is oneness with God and oneness with one another. Our  unity is patterned after the Father and Son’s unity which is constant relationship with each other.We need to pray for unity in our communities to give glory to God. We do this best in the Eucha­ristic celebration.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: John 16:29-33
The disciples said to him, “Now you are speaking plainly and not in veiled language! Now we see that you know all things, even before we question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.”Jesus answered them, “You say that you believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.I have told you all this, so that in me you may have peace. You will have trouble in the world; but, courage! I have overcome the world.”

Reflections
“You say that you believe?”The apostles immediately ac­knowledge Jesus speaking no longer in a veiled language. We expect that before this happens, there is a long time gap. But in the story, right after Jesus promises not to speak in veiled language anymore (Saturday’s reading), everything becomes clear to the disciples.The apostles come to be­lieve that he comes from the Father. Yet Jesus knows they do not know the whole picture yet. Their belief is still flawed be­ cause Jesus’ story is not yet com­pletely revealed. Jesus predicts the apostles will be scattered when crisis comes. They will not stay with him when he will be put on trial.For Jesus, this is no cause for worry because the Father is with him. He can surpass the trouble he is facing. Likewise, the disci­ples should not worry because the world will never overcome him. Truly, at the beginning of John’s gospel, it says that Je­sus is the light that overcomes darkness. The darkness has not overcome the light. Therefore, his disciples must take courage.We Christians can under­stand the language of God as long as we believe. St. Augustine once said, “Believe that you may understand.” It is not the other way around.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 24:46-53
“So it was written: the Messiah had to suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead. Then repentance and forgiveness in his name would be proclaimed to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And that is why I will send you what my Father promised. So remain in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”Jesus led them almost as far as Bethany; then he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And as he blessed them, he withdrew, and was taken to heaven. They worshiped him, and then returned to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the temple, praising God.

Lectio Divina
READ: The ascension of Jesus entails commissioning of disciples to continue his work. Certainly, the disciples will be busy proclaiming re­pentance and forgiveness to all peoples. They are not left behind without any task. Soon they will receive the Holy Spirit to give them power.
REFLECT: The disciples did not remain looking up to heaven for a long time as Jesus immediately disappeared from their sight. They had to look down more to discern how to start working and chart where they are going. The ascension of Jesus calls us to continue giving witness to God who shows mercy, compassion and forgiveness to his people.
PRAY: Lord, we who remain on earth ask for your assis­tance as we embark on our own mission based on the talents you have given us. Help us to discern how best we can communicate your love to other people. Give us the grace to make your pre­sence felt.
ACT: Go to your parish and coordinate with your priests and parish leaders. We do our mission in the context of our local churches. You can best serve the church according to your God ­given talents. Do not pretend you can do every thing.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: John 16:23b-28
Truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. So far you have not asked for anything in my name; ask, and receive, that your joy may be full.I have taught you all these things in veiled language, but the time is coming when I shall no longer speak in veiled language, but will speak to you plainly about the Father.When that day comes, you will ask in my name; and it will not be necessary for me to ask the Father for you, for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and you believed that I came from the Father. As I came from the Father, and have come into the world, so I am leaving the world, and going to the Father.”

Reflections
“Ask, and receive, that your joy may be full.”Jesus admits he talks in a veiled language. This poses a big problem not only to his listeners around but also to his own disci­ples. He promises that it will be different in due time. Then they will understand everything. But in the passage, there is a different outcome. Whenever they pray to God, it will be granted them.When they will know more about the Father, they will no longer hesitate to ask from him. As of now, they are not asking anything from the Father, be­cause he is a mystery to them. Jesus will make them understand the Father much later.Language is important in knowing more about the Father. In linguistics, language is a sys­tem of relations. It is a system of words put together to produce meaning. Words that are totally disjunctive to one another cannot produce meaning. They cannot lead to understanding and appre­ciation of what is communicated. For us Christians, it is impor­tant to know the language used in our liturgy and in the Bible. It is not always easy to know the meaning because figures of speech are being employed. Poetry is employed to tickle our feelings, not only our minds.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019