Homily for the 7th Sunday of Easter

The Gospel passage we just heard tells of the final segment of Jesus' prayer to His Father. He prays for the oneness of all believers—those from the past, present, and future. He longs for us to be united in the same way He and the Father are united so that we may understand that the Father sent Him and loves us just as He loves His Son.

Jesus prays for His closest disciples and all who will come to believe in Him through their teachings. He wants us all to be united, mirroring the oneness shared between Him and the Father.

He believes that people worldwide will recognize the reality of God's love and His mission through the unity of His believers. This unity is a strong witness to others that the Father has sent the Son to us and deeply cares for and loves us.

Indeed, Tertullian, a 3rd-century Christian writer, said that many non-believers noted the early Christians' love and unity, saying, "Behold how these Christians love one another, and how they are ready to die for one another."

Jesus stresses that the unity He seeks finds its source in God's love for His Son and His affection for us. Jesus wants this love to dwell within us and for Him to be within us, mirroring the close bond between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ prayer encourages us to contemplate how to live out the unity that He desires. It should compel us to pursue unity in our homes, communities, schools, workplaces, and our Church, to love one another as Christ loves us, and to be a visible expression of God's love in the world, thus drawing others into that same love.