Seventh Sunday of Easter (Fr. Guiliano)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
I would like to talk to you this morning about the prayers of Jesus. I don’t mean the prayers he uttered on earth, though I will make reference to a few of those. I mean the prayers he is praying now -- in heaven -- for us.
 
Let us state the basics first. We do not confess a Savior who is dead. Yes, Jesus died on the cross. Yes, he was buried. Yes, he descended into hell, to the place of dead spirits. But, as we have been confessing now in our prayers, in our liturgy, through our readings, in our hymns, and in the renewed life we seek to live: the Lord rose from the dead on the third day, never to die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all. The live he now lives, he lives to God. Forever and ever we may say: Alleluia, Christ is risen!

To quote a hymn: “Jesus lives! Thy terrors now can, O death, no more appall us.”  We might once have feared the grave, but no more. Jesus lives!

But what is our Lord doing with his “one wild and precious life”? Surely he’s living in some kind of eternal summer day. But with apologies to a good poem by Mary Oliver called “Praying,” I don’t think he is simply being “idle and blessed.” No, he is living an indestructible life. And while he may be seated on a throne, he is busy, he is working. Most of all, he is at prayer.

We try to remember this every Easter as we read the Acts of the Apostles. That book, written by St Luke the evangelist, reminds us that his Gospel was only an account of all the things Jesus “began to do and teach.”
 
The Acts of the Apostles is an account of his ongoing activity, as he works increasingly in the lives of his disciples, in the early communities of faith, guiding them by the Spirit. And so we may read every story with him in mind.

In our reading this morning, who was working? We heard that Paul and Silas were walking through Philippi, facing a few annoyances, as well as enduring capture and arrest, false charges, beatings, and imprisonment. We also heard that they freed a girl from her enslavement and exploitation. She was no longer dominated by wicked men or an evil spirit. And why? Paul spoke to the spirit in the name of Jesus. We heard that Paul and Silas, when imprisoned, were freed and they prayed and sang hymns.

Suddenly, there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
 
Who destroyed that prison? Who broke the yokes of the prisoners? Indeed, who brought the jailer to faith? These are actions of the ascended Christ: free, liberating, inspiring.
         
Jesus lives. And Jesus prays. He prays for us. We are not left comfortless by his departure. He lives! He prays! He sent his angel to John “with a testimony for the churches.” He pronounces a blessing upon all those who believe in him; he grants them access this day to the tree of life, to the water of life. He speaks now: “Let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.”
         
Jesus lives. He has entered into the true temple in heaven, “now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”
         
Jesus prays. Even while he was on earth, he prayed for you. John 17:20 tell us:
Jesus prayed for his disciples, and then he said: “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word…”
 
We are all here today because of that prayer. If we believe, our faith has come through those first disciples, through the testimony of their word, written in the Scriptures and proclaimed by the Church, and our faith has been inspired spiritually by that singular, powerful prayer that Christ uttered on the night he was betrayed: “I ask not only on behalf of these,” he said “but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word…”

Christ prayed for you on earth. He prays for you now in heaven.

That is a comforting thought. Think about how you feel when a friend says, “I’ll pray for you.” Or, if you’ve ever been sick, truly sick, in the hospital or housebound, fearing for your life, there is something so good about being held in prayer by others. I remember a friend once sending me a message when I was ill, and it was one line: “You have been remembered at the altar of the Holy Cross in Dallas.”

Prayers like that are so precious. And they are the prayers of ordinary people like you and me, ordinary people united in the Spirit by faith and baptism, united by hope, united by love. And how wonderful it is to know that Christ prays.

Take this truth home with you. Don’t leave it at the door as you say good-bye and go back to whatever dramas await you out there. We are not left without comfort or help. We have an advocate in heaven, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Let us hold this truth in our hearts. As the old hymn says:
  
Jesus, hail! Enthroned in glory,
there forever to abide;
All the heavenly hosts adore thee,
seated at the Father’s side.
There for sinners, thou art pleading,
There thou dost our place prepare,
Ever for us interceding,
Till in glory we appear.