Stop that Prayer, Become the Prayer itself!
Acts 1:15-26; 1 John 4:11-16; Jn 17:11b-19
This is Prayer Sunday, the Sunday between Ascension and Pentecost! Interestingly, it is not only human beings alone who pray, as it is evidently the case in the first reading of today, where the apostles pray and show us the importance of prayers in order to know the will of God, God’s choice in an election context; but, in today’s gospel, God also prays, through Jesus Christ his Son, the so-called Priestly Prayer of Jesus Christ – the prayer for oneness/unity. Earlier in his ministry, Jesus taught us how to pray, “when you pray, say ‘Our Father.’” To begin his prayer today, Jesus calls God “Father”. The Father of Jesus is the Father of the rest of God’s children. From the prayer of petition of the apostles in the first reading, in today’s gospel, we arrive at the prayer of participation in the divinity of God, we become prayer itself, we become sons and daughters of God. Therefore, stop that prayer of yours, and become prayer itself!
Quite often, the angle to prayer that we focus on is that of talking to God, whether it be prayer of thanksgiving or petition. We often think that we alone pray, without paying attention to the prayer of God himself. We forget that as we pray to God, God also prays. It is true that God hears and answers prayers. He heard and answered the prayers of the apostles in their desire to have a replacement for Judas Iscariot, in our first reading. Matthias appeared as God’s choice. The Holy Spirit descended as a sign of God’s approbation of their choice and as answer to their prayer of petition – “Show Lord, between these two men, whom you have chosen.” What many of us miss, in God’s choice of Matthias, is the INTENTION for the prayer, the fact that the unity of the twelve instituted by God was the desire of the apostles. If Jesus constituted twelve apostles, then it is imperative to keep what God has started; so the apostles were simply concerned with fidelity to God’s decision to choose twelve men and not simply to replace Judas Iscariot. It was a prayer of fidelity to God’s plans, and the prayer of unity of the apostolic symbol of God’s will among human beings.
Each time we pray, two sides to prayer must come together, our thanksgiving and petition must turn us into what God wants us to be, prayer itself. If the apostles prayed for the completion and unity of the apostolic choice of God (first reading), if Jesus prayed for the unity of all his children (gospel), the idea of prayer goes beyond what we say to and request of God to what God wants of us. God has a plan for each one of us, and each time we pray, the sole aim of our prayer should be the desire to conform ourselves to what God wants us to become, and not what we want for ourselves. In this connection, these words of Jesus are very instructive, “And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth” (John 17:19).
“Prayer” is a lifestyle and not the words uttered to God. Prayer is the realization of the mission God wants to realize in each one of us, just as Jesus came upon earth to do the will of his Father. Jesus became a Son, because that was the will of his Father – the prayer of his Father: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”! Jesus died, rose, and ascended into heaven because all of those activities were fore-planned by his Father. You know what? God has a plan for your life and mine too! Indeed, the only thing Jesus sought upon earth was to do the will of his Father, even when that was not palatable and convenient. No wonder Jesus consecrated himself; he set himself apart and abandoned his own will, in order to take up the will of his Father. Jesus became prayer itself – the realization of the will of his Father. So, stop that prayer of yours, and become prayer itself, like Christ!
Today, Jesus prays for the consecration of each one of us; Jesus turns prayers into habits and ways of life. Prayer is no longer what is done on bended knees, but what is seen, watched, and observable in homes, streets and job-places. Prayer leaves the confines of churches, shrines, synagogues to become the realization of God’s missionary desire for every Christian. Indeed, our lives on earth must be to do the will of God.
In his prayer today, Jesus not only prays for the “consecration” of his children, but their consecration in the “truth” also. The statement, “I am the way, the truth and the life,” tells us already what “truth” is – conformity with Jesus’ lifestyle and the expectations of God. “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth,” says today’s gospel. That same “word” that became flesh, is the medium for the consecration of every child of God. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth,” says John 1:14. A prayer answered is to live a lifestyle that is “glorious” – a lifestyle that turns us into the reflections and presences of God on earth. According to our gospel reading, Jesus says, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil”. Jesus returns to the Father, but left you and I behind as his presences and those to do the will of God upon earth.
It is important to realize that, when Jesus ascended into heaven, he didn’t leave behind him a copy of the gospel or the Bible; Jesus left behind a community of human beings. A community that will be called “Christians,” after people must have seen that their lifestyles conformed to that of Christ (Acts 11:26). Between the Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), the community Jesus left behind went into ardent prayers for 9 days (novena), and when the Holy Spirit descended upon them, they became new creatures – they became prayer itself, and not only those who prayed. Today, there are so many who quote the Bible and forget to live out the Bible. Many forget that Jesus ascended, so that we many take his place and represent him on earth.
This Sunday – Prayer Sunday – let us be prayers answered to our brothers and sister in need. If Matthias took over the position of Judas, you and are must take over the presence of the ascended Jesus Christ by by doing what he did while on earth. As long as you and I keep imitating Jesus Christ, the light, love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ will be felt by all.
*Assignment for the Week:*
Could you speak the truth, and nothing but the truth, this week?