Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 5, 2025 - 7th Week of Easter - Thurs
[Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 and John 17:20-26]"I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me." [John]
JUNE 5 ST. BONIFACE, martyr
My own one-line summary of the message of the Gospel According to John is: "Jesus is the one whom God has sent." The constant mention of this in today's passage as well as elsewhere in this gospel makes the idea inescapable to me!
But how can people know about this? As St. Paul says in Romans: "How can they believe in one of whom they have not heard?" [Rom. 10:14] The "sending" did not stop with Jesus. In the passage from the Last Supper discourse today, Jesus prays for all those who will hear the "word" and come to belief because the disciples are "sent" to preach it. In his post-resurrection appearance to the disciples, Jesus declares: "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit...."
If the "sending" stopped with the original remaining group of eleven (Judas was gone), I might not be writing this! No, the responsibility has been passed on both through "apostolic succession" in the pope and bishops, but also through those whom they have, in turn, "sent!" By virtue of Baptism/Confirmation, we have been "sent" to become, in the words of Pope Francis, "missionary disciples." Jesus is praying for us and for those who will hear about him from us. Our faith is not simply a personal possession, but a "stewardship." [1 Cor. 4:1] It cannot be hoarded and buried [Matt. 25:14-30] just to be dug up when the Master returns.
Jesus' prayer for unity in this belief has been frustrated by human weakness but we can continue to do our individual and collective efforts to make it a reality. AMEN