Readings and meditation on the Word of God on the 7th Sunday of Easter, June 1, 2025

Delivered by Maria Delie, Chendani Budhi, Kezia Nikita, and Stella Wijaya from the Parish of Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 7: 55-60; Rs psalm 97: 1.2b.6.7c.9; Revelation 22: 12-14.16-17.20; John 17: 20-26.UNITY IS PERFECT The title for our meditation on this 7thSunday of Easter is: Unity Is Perfect. We all know that perfection belongs toGod. He and all of His powerful deeds are perfect. God is the only creator oflife, that means He is perfect and total in word and deed. Therefore we callhim "Almighty", which means there is no other power above Him. Our human attitude towards God who isone and perfect, generally manifested in two types. The first is to follow Himwhich means we give ourselves to live according to His will and to fulfill Hiscommandments. In the whole story of salvation, the history of God's people 'srelationship with God is very much colored by a crisis of giving of selfproperly and sincerely to God. Moses, David, Peter and Paul are some concreteexamples. They reflect the dynamic life of the real believers like everyone ofus. Second, towards the one and perfectGod, there is a type human attitude that refuses God, both openly and secretlynot to open up to accept His call. The history of salvation also proves thatthe enemies of God like the flood story in the days of Noah in the oldtestament and the Pharisees in the new testament, did not have blessings fromGod. A journey of life that does not know God and rejects Him, clearlydirects  that life to its end in the formof death. On this Sunday the word of God deeplytouches all of us who believe in Christ, that our unity and life in God are thebasic conditions for our salvation. This is our basic calling that begins withour respective baptisms, so that from that moment until the end of our lives,we are in that same unity. The virtue and value of unity are noble and holybecause it comes from God Himself. This should become a reminder for usboth individuals and people of God or members of society, that a union ofpeople who live together in community does not always end in a unity. The endof a process and journey turns out to be in division, separation, conflict, andeven persecution. If the calling of marriage andreligious life turn out to end in separation or division, it means that lifedoes not reach perfection. If someone's journey as a follower of Christ finallyleads to failure to enter heaven, then the journey of faith is far from thelight of perfection. Therefore, the good news of today is important for us,that is, stay united in God. That is perfection. Let's pray. In the name of theFather ... O God, bless us so that we are not tempted to abandon the unity oflife in your kingdom. Our Father who art in heaven ... In the name of theFather ...