It seems that on this weekend that intervenes between the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord and the feast of Pentecost, both readings seem deal with the completion of the work of God: Acts recounts the words of Paul to the Priests of Miletus and John’s Gospel relates the “high priestly prayer” of Jesus.

In the prayer of Jesus, the words are addressed to the Father rather than the disciples, who only overhear. Although still in the world, Jesus looks on His earthly ministry as a thing of the past. Whereas Jesus has hitherto stated that the disciples could not follow Him, now He wishes them to be with Him in union with the Father. He is crossing the threshold of eternity.

In His prayer He states what eternal life is: “Eternal life is this: to know You, the only true God, and Him whom You have sent, Jesus Christ.” This gives us great insight into the meaning of Eternal Life, I believe. It quite directly states that Eternal Life is all about coming to a greater knowledge of Who God is rather than just immortality. Eternal Life deals with our understanding of our relationship with God. The fullness of life, eternal life, truly is ours when we see ourselves not just as mere creatures created by God but, rather, as the Temples of His Life and Spirit and, therefore, as His children, the heirs to His Kingdom.

Now the reality is that we can come to some understanding of our relationship with God during this lifetime. We can believe and profess that we are His children during this present lifetime, even though we may not fully understand the implications of this belief. That is why Jesus could preach: “Change your hearts and minds for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Consider this! Indeed this present life is totally changed if we acknowledge that we are children of God. If we truly believe we are His children, we become more aware of how we think and behave. We “put on Christ”, that is His way of thinking and living, because we see Him as the first-born of the Father and the model of how humans should think and live. We begin to understand the meaning and purpose of this present earthly existence.

What is your belief about this present life? What is your belief about Eternal Life? Do you truly believe that we are already living this Eternal Life? These are questions I would recommend to your thoughts.