Thursday 28th May 2020
Seventh week of Easter
Acts 22:30,23:6-11, John 17:20-26
For some days now, we have been
reading from the 17th chapter of the gospel of John, which contains the series
of prayers of Jesus before his passion, death, resurrection and his ascended to
the Father. Some scripture scholars refer to this chapter as the priestly
prayer of Jesus. First, Jesus prayed for himself to be able to go through his
passion, secondly, he prayed for his Apostles so that their faith would not
fail them, and they will be able to overcome the false prophets who will come
when he has gone.
In the part of the chapter we
read in the gospel reading of today, Jesus looked into the future and prayed
for all of us who will not see him physically but will become Christians
through the preaching of the Apostle. We are therefore blessed by Jesus even
before we were born.
The most obvious part of the
prayer for all Christians which is still very much needed in our world today is
unity among Christians. Jesus had warned that we should be careful because when
he leaves, many people will come and claim to be prophets and pastors, they
will cause confusion around the place by contradicting the true teachings of
Christ. This is what Paul suffered in the first reading of today, and this
continues to happen in our world today. There is almost a church after every 5
houses in some places, with people who claim to be pastors, giving different
teachings and condemning the teachings and doctrines of others.
As Christians, we are called to
be agents of unity, not confusion among the body of Christ. Sometimes, muslims
may even be more friendly with a Christian than a fellow Christian who is a
member of a different Christian sect. Love is the answer, and the earlier we
are ready to listen to one another and accept simple truths, the better for us
to be united under one umbrella of God. There is also need to pray for all
Christians, that we may truly be one in mind and heart. God help us. Amen.
Fr Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie MSP
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