7th Sunday of Eastertide – Acts 1:12-14; 1 Peter 4:13-16; John 17:1-11
Jesus speaks of eternal life. What is eternal life? It is more than simply endless time. Science today looks for ways to extend the duration of life; but that doesn’t necessarily make life better for us here. Eternal life is qualitative more than quantitative. To have eternal life is to have the life of God within us. When we possess eternal life, we experience here and now something of God’s majesty, His peace, joy and love and the holiness which characterises the life of God. Jesus also speaks of the knowledge of God. Jesus tells his disciples that they can know the only true God. Knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of God – a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down His life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God – a God who loves us completely, unconditionally and perfectly.