Stephen looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Christ Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father. He was so delighted by this that he felt the need to exclaim what he was seeing. But this suggested Jesus' equality with the Father, his divine being, something the Jews were unwilling to accept. They took up stones and stoned Stephen to death.
This theme of Christ's divine glory is developed in today's Gospel. Jesus prays to his Father and begins by saying: "I have given them the glory that you gave me.". Curious words, how is this possible? The communication of grace is already a foretaste of glory; in every sacrament we also participate in the glory of Christ. This glory may be more apparent in the beauty of sacred art, architecture, music and solemn liturgy, but it is hidden there in the most discreet, simplest Mass. In every Mass, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, leading us, already now, to his invisible glory.
Jesus continues his prayer asking the Father "that those you have given me may be with me where I am and behold my glory, which you gave me, because you loved me, before the foundation of the world.". Jesus wants us to share his glory, because this is sharing the Father's love. Love and glory go together. They are the fullness of what we might call ecstatic love. We see it in romantic love: at first the lovers think that their beloved is totally glorious. Then, in time, each sees that the other is not as glorious as he or she thought. But in Heaven there will be no disappointment: it will be a continual discovery of how glorious God is and how glorious their love is.
The book of Revelation offers us a glimpse of this heavenly glory, so it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit offers us a text from it in today's Mass (as he does throughout the Easter season). Jesus reveals himself as "the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.". And he invites us to join in the Church's prayer for his coming. Yes, let us long for the coming of the Lord and share in his eternal glory. And we can satisfy and foster that longing by receiving him in faith at every Mass, awaiting that glorious fullness of sight that comes with the Beatific Vision.
