Seventh Sunday of Easter 2026

Acts 1,6-14; John 17,1-11

Revd. Neli Miranda

 

Today we celebrate the Seventh Sunday of Easter. This Sunday serves as a sacred bridge, following our celebration of the Ascension and anticipating the blessings of Pentecost.

In our reading from the book of Acts, Luke brings us back to the moment of the Ascension, when Jesus and his disciples gathered in Jerusalem. In the preceding verses, we learn that the risen Jesus spent forty days teaching them about the Kingdom of God. He ordered them to remain in Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Father: the visiting of the Holy Spirit. Yet, just before Jesus ascends, some of the disciples ask a telling question: “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1,6). Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, national restoration was a constant preoccupation for some of his disciples. Now, even on the threshold of his departure, they remain attached to the dream of an earthly empire, perhaps still seeking positions of political power.

Jesus does not respond to their personal interests but gently corrects their narrow expectations. He promises them a different kind of power—not an earthly dominion, but the power of the Holy Spirit to become his witnesses to the ends of the earth: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1,8). Jesus’ final words are revelatory. The Kingdom of God cannot be confined by political borders or national identities. Jesus refuses to let his message be privatized or localized in Jerusalem; it must be proclaimed to all nations.

The divine power the early disciples receive drives them to witness to the totality of Jesus’s life: his radical proclamation, his teachings, his mighty deeds, his execution by a violent imperial system, and his ultimate victory over death in the Resurrection and Ascension.

Significantly, the Greek word for witness is martys. Originally used for those who proclaimed the Gospel, it is the root of our English word martyr—those who suffer or are murdered for their faith. This linguistic evolution reflects historical reality. The message of Jesus’ first disciples was so counter-cultural, so threatening to the status quo, that the powers of the world handed them over to death. They became the first martyrs, transforming the world by the radical nature of their witness.

A question for us today: Are we truly witnesses of Jesus?

The Ascension was a pivotal threshold for the first Christian community, a prelude to their total transformation. Jesus left them on the doorstep of a new creation, where they would receive the breath of God and become a transformative community of life in the midst of a culture of death.

By celebrating the Ascension, we anticipate our own recreation. The Spirit of God moves over us, filling and strengthening us to continue Jesus’ proclamation in the world. This feast proclaims our collective victory over violent systems that seek to silence and execute dissidents. Jesus’ victorious Ascension reminds us that dying in resistance to injustice is not a defeat; it is a profound protest, declaring to the powers of this world that their authority is limited. Death does not have the last word. From the grave, life breaks forth. Jesus’ Ascension is the definitive defeat of the system of death.

Jesus understood the harsh reality of the world his disciples lived in—a world ruled by the Roman Empire, which oppressed the vulnerable and crucified its dissidents. Jesus experienced the brutality of that anti-god system firsthand. Therefore, before his departure, he prays a deeply intimate prayer for his disciples, commending them to the Good Father as we read in John’s Gospel.

Sisters and brothers, in today’s Gospel, we hear this tender intercession: “I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours…” (John 17,9). Here, Jesus is not just praying for his first-century disciples, but also for us today. Across the centuries, his prayer shields all of us who reject the values of a corrupt imperial system to enter the Kingdom of God. Yet, we remain physically “in the world”—surrounded by corruption, injustice, war, and systemic violence. Jesus begs the Father for our protection, praying: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one” (John 17,11). Jesus’ desire is that we, his twenty-first century disciples, live in a radical unity that reflects the divine communion.

Dear sisters and brothers, this Sunday is the bridge taking us from the glorious manifestations of Easter to the renewal of Pentecost. Are we ready to cross this bridge with a deep understanding of Jesus’ resurrection? How does the Ascension enlighten our discipleship as the Holy Spirit draws near? For now, let us remain together in Jerusalem, waiting in faithful anticipation for the promise of the Father. Amen.