AN AIR-TIGHT UNITY.

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER. YEAR C.
May 20, 2007.
(First reading: Acts 7:55-60) (Second reading: Revelation 22:12-20)
(Gospel: John 17:20-26)

AN AIR-TIGHT UNITY.

"Father... may they be one, as we are one,
I living in them, you living in me, that their
unity may be complete" (John 17:22-23)

There is a unity which is total and complete, that is, an air-tight unity, such is the unity that God wants to have with humanity.

That unity is offered to us by way of a promise and a model. It is the promise which Jesus makes to us to live in him just as he lives in the Father. It is the model which Jesus shows us in the cross.

The Scriptures today speak of Jesus offering himself as a promise and as a model for us to enter into unity with him: "Father... may they be one, as we are one, I living in them, you living in me, that their unity may be complete" (John 17:22-23).

The promise. The Book of Revelation presents us the promise: "Behold, I am coming soon! I bring with me the reward I will give to each according to his deeds" (Revelation 22:12) It is an invitation to partake in the very life of Jesus, for the reward is nothing else but the Lord himself.

The model. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles introduces us to very first person who followed the model of Jesus on the cross: Stephen who is stoned for witnessing to the unity between God and humanity.

The enemy of unity: Division among human beings.
Division manifests itself through indifference and destruction.

- Indifference is the equivalent of saying to my fellow human being: "you do not exist"
- Destruction is the equivalent of saying: "I will bring an end to your existence".

Our world is firmly set on its policies of division:
- There is an increasingly deepening gap between the powerful and the weak, between the rich and the poor, between the oppressor and the oppressed, between those who live by the lie and those who die for upholding the truth.

- These policies of division are visible in those nations whose economies flourish in the midst of wars and global domination.

- These policies of division are visible in the fragmentation of our families, were the unity among its members has become an illusion.

In a world of division, indifference and destruction, the Lord Jesus presents himself as a promise and as a model for us to achieve a complete unity, an air-tight unity.