They Gathered at the Upper Room; Devoted themselves to Prayer.

Homily for May 28, 2017.

Not too long ago, our President made a statement regarding not knowing which political party his wife belongs, but that he knew she belonged to the kitchen, the living room and the other room. And trust Nigerians, many people made a lot of insinuations about this statement, comedians twisted it to suit their laughing audiences, some even produced songs and acted movies titled “The Other Room.”

Dear friends, today, we are not going to talk about the President’s other room, rather there is a special room where the Apostles gathered just after the Ascension of Jesus which is called the UPPER ROOM. This is the room we need to be right now.

As we read in the Acts of the Apostles: “(After Jesus was taken up into heaven,) the Apostles returned to Jerusalem … and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, … all these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Acts 1:12-14.

The Upper Room is not any kind of room, it is a special room; special not because of its height but because of what this room was used for. The upper room was a room of Prayer; and given that they were staying there, this upper room must have been some sort of monastery – a place free from distractions solely dedicated to prayer.

When we consider the fact that next Sunday is Pentecost Day, and it was on this day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles gathered in this very upper room, because they remained there in prayer, we can now see that this Upper Room played a very significant role as far as Christianity is concerned.

Indeed, we may say that the Upper Room is the first Catholic Parish. It is the place where the Church itself was born, the place the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles in tongues of fire empowering them with gifts and fruits to go out and spread the message. Had it been they did not gather in this upper room to devote themselves to prayer and live in one accord, do you think the Holy Spirit would have come mightily upon them?

Dear friends, I consider the time they spent in the upper room as a time of deep spiritual preparation, a time of devotion and prayer thereby putting themselves in a state of grace to receive the Holy Spirit. The church teaches us that in other for us to worthily receive any sacrament, we must be in a state of grace. If we are not prepared inwardly, our reception of the sacrament becomes null and void.

So the question before us today is: “Have I positioned myself in the Upper Room?” or maybe we should start by asking: Do I have an upper room? Do I have at least a space or a corner in my house solely dedicated to prayer and nothing else? And if I have, when last did I really use it?

As we prepare for Pentecost next Sunday, this is a time for us to lock up ourselves in our Upper Rooms and like the Apostles prepare our hearts for the Holy Spirit by prayer. Prayer is a relationship, it is our key to happiness, prayer draws us closer to God, prayer is all important.

A prayerful Christian is a powerful Christian. Prayer is the key! Jesus started with prayer and ended with prayer. In fact, our Gospel passage today contains one of the prayers of Jesus, a prayer he said towards the end of his public ministry. If Jesus being God prayed, who are we not to pray?

And was Jesus praying only for himself? No! He prayed for us. “I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine.” John 17:8-9. We too should pray for one another.

Yes, we can pray anywhere but that the Bible mentions an upper room shows that prayer deserves respect, prayer should not be done in the bedroom. Why? Because, just as cooking needs its own special room called the Kitchen, prayer needs a special room; an Upper Room; a room that helps us raise our minds to God above.

Why can’t we just dedicate one room to prayer? Is God too small or so unimportant that he cannot get one room in your house? Some of us have altars at the corners of our sitting room but as you and I know, these altars are never used, they are just there to for sightseeing – to give impression to the visitors that we are holy. Repent!

Get an upper room today! And start using it. And it is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will meet you in the upper room when he comes next Sunday.

Lastly as we celebrate the world communications day today, let us be committed to using every channel of communication we have to spread God’s message. Your phone is not meant only for making friends, entertainment, games or pornography, use it as your pulpit! Use your writing skills or speaking prowess to talk about Jesus. Even your dressing, your carriage and your behaviour should communicate God to the world.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may I be fully prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (7^th Sunday of Easter. Year A. Bible Study: Acts 1:12-14, 1 Peter 4:13-16 and John 17:1-11).