7th Sunday of Easter – Year A
“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven.” This line today caught my eye when I was preparing my homily and reflecting on the scripture readings. ‘Jesus raised his eyes to heaven.’ Have you done the same recently? Maybe when you’re walking outside, the sun shining brightly with a beautiful blue sky, or interesting cloud formation. Or maybe watching the sunset over the sea, and you find yourself looking upwards towards heaven and saying a prayer of thanksgiving. Sometimes when I walk along the coast, I start singing the words from the hymn ‘I the Lord of sea and sky’. Then for the next 10mins or so, I end up humming the tune to myself, since I cannot get it out of my head.
Today the scriptures shows us the importance of prayer. In the first reading the Apostles, with Mary, and the other disciples were praying in the upper room, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come down upon them. Which we will celebrate next week at Pentecost. St Luke shows us in his writings the persistent of communal prayer in the early Church. We should be wise and imitate them in our own lives. Our Christian way of life should be rooted deeply in Christ Jesus, and the only way we can to talk to him for guidance is through prayer.
We are encouraged by the Church to prayer often. Priests and Religious make a promise to the Bishop to pray the Liturgy of Hours (which is also called) the Divine Office, five times a day for the intentions for the whole world.
May we as God’s people, imitate the Apostles and increase our devotion to Christ the Lord, spending quality time in prayer. Prayer doesn’t have to be long, you could say: ‘Lord, help me’, and you will be given the grace you need to carry or resolve the burden. This is also good advice for students at this time who are facing pressures of revision and examinations at this time. ‘Lord, help me in my exam.’
In the Gospel we hear Jesus’ ‘High Priestly Prayer’ offered to the Father for the intentions of his disciples, just before he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane and the start of His Passion. Jesus is showing himself as the ‘High Priest’ performing his priestly roles of intercessor and mediator. Through this prayer for unity, Jesus provides us with a glimpse into the communion between the Father and the Son, into which he invites all of humanity to enter.
Jesus begins his prayer with a customary Jewish gesture: ‘He raised his eyes to heaven’. The Father has already given Jesus authority over all people, and now Jesus is asking the Father to glorify him, so that when he has been crucified, resurrected, and exalted into glory, he may give eternal life to all peoples ‘in time’, whom the Father has given to him. ‘In time’ meaning throughout the generations, who are God’s faithful people.
How closely to we follow the words in the celebration of the Mass? Especially during the words in the Eucharistic Prayers. A prayer of ‘thanksgiving’ to God the Father. This Jewish gesture is repeated again by the priest.
In Eucharistic prayer 1, the priest says:
“On the day before he was to suffer, he took bread in his holy and venerable hands, and with eyes raised to heaven to you, O God, his almighty Father, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples.”
In the Missal, there is even an instruction in red, (which is part of the rubrics) telling the priest to physically raise his eyes to heaven during these words.
This can be very challenging to do when learning how to celebrate the Mass, during my seminary days. So, during the Eucharist prayer today, watch out for this, as we partake together praising the Father for the whole work of salvation, that we may be worthy to receive the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Nature … God’s creation, is so wonderful, it is nice just to stop and pause, take a breath and ponder. Especially in the Lake District or on the coast, just to take in the beauty of the sea and sky, to ponder on what we are seeing. To reflect on the awesomeness of God’s gift and the love for each of us. He has created all of us, because he loves us. So, the next time you’re walking outside, raise your eyes to heaven and say thank you for the precious gift of life itself.
Rev. Fr Philip Wrigley's Blog 