Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Rev 3:20 (KJ Bible)

Brethren, Grace, Mercy, and Peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all now and always. Amen.

Lent is a time of reflection and most importantly a time when we prepare ourselves to mark the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a time of penance, fasting, prayer and almsgiving. As Easter people going through this quiet season of Lent, we should remember that, the prime purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ coming to this world was: to die for our sins, to offer himself once and for all as a perfect sacrifice for our sins and to reconcile us with God our Father. In our journey towards Easter, I will like us to reflect on the Upper Room also called the Cenacle since the 11^th century, a place mentioned in John chapters 13-17 and in the book of Acts because of the powerful miracles that took place there.

The Upper Room is in Jerusalem. It was a place well known and regularly frequented by Jesus and his disciples. The Bible has about 260 events or verses connected with this room. I will but quote a few here:

• a)It was the place Jesus washed the disciples’ feet- signifying his servanthood and showing us what we ought to do for each other. Remember, what Jesus said to Peter unless I wash your feet you remain no part of me. (John: 13: 1-15)
• b) It was in the Upper Room that, Jesus had the Last Supper or Eucharist with his disciples – a memorial of which we celebrate every Sunday in church. (John 13:26)
• c)It was in the Upper Room that, Jesus made some important sayings such as: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6) , Love one another as I have loved you (John13: 34), Greater love has no one than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends ( John15:13), etc.
• d)It was in the Upper Room that, Jesus prayed the high priestly prayers-signifying we should not only pray for ourselves for others as well. (John 17)
• e)  It was in the Upper Room that, Mary Magdalene and the other women came and announce to the disciples that, Christ is risen (John 20:18)
• f) It was in the Upper room that, the Holy Spirit came on the disciples in the form of a strong winds and tongues of fire (Acts 2-2-4)
• g)It was in the Upper room that, Peter on being led out of prison by angels went to be greeted at the door by Rhoda -maidservant to owner of the Upper Room and then eventually led in to the room. (Acts 12:12)

To whom did this Upper Room belong?  We find the Upper Room was owned by Mary- a widow whose brother was Barnabas (Acts 4:36) and whose son John Mark was secretary and travelling companion to Peter and who wrote the Gospel of Mark. 

What does events in the Upper Room teach us?

Many events took place in this Upper room which are narrated in the Bible from John 13 to Acts 12 showing us that, when one opens one’s room to our Lord Jesus Christ, he will come in and perform miracles, signs and wonders well beyond our imagination. If we open our individual rooms to Jesus, not only will he transform us but also transform those close to us. Mary the owner of this Upper Room witnessed many miracles in her life as Jesus and his disciples kept frequenting the Upper Room. Her brother called Barnabas (who we know sold his property and laid the money at the disciples feet in Acts 4:36), recruited Paul and became his traveling companion and John Mark ( a son of Mary), who on hearing and listening to all the good news from Jesus and his disciples, became a traveling companion to Paul and Peter, eventually writing the gospel of Mark. All this signifies, if we also truly open our rooms and churches to Jesus, miracles will happen to us. Maybe we might not have a room, but we can have a “spiritual room” in our hearts where Jesus will perform miracles. Let us remember, the early churches in the New Testament started in people’s homes and by the miracles that happened in these individual homes, the church began to spread out. Let us remember most importantly that, Jesus is at door of our hearts and at the door of our sacred spaces knocking and if we let Him in, he will come in and sup with us and give us that total transformation that will change us forever. Although Jesus can do all things and all things are possible through him, he will not open the door of our Upper Rooms by himself, the door handle to this door is inside we have to turn it to allow Jesus in, to get that transformation. The big question we need to ask ourselves is: are we going to reach out and turn the handle to the door to allow Jesus in or are we going to keep our hands tightly in our pockets? The season of Lent is the most appropriate time to make our decision on whether we want Jesus in lives or not. Let us remember, Jesus he died and rose again so that we can gain eternal life. Brethren, there is no better place to be than to being with Jesus!. Amen.

Prayer:

Lord God, we pray that you will come to that individual place in our lives that we reserve for you. We pray that, you will use the spaces we make in our lives to perform: signs, miracles, and wonders by your divine power. Like Mary, may our upper rooms be a place you frequent so that we are transformed for your purpose and become true disciples of yours in your name we pray. Amen

Thought of the Week -  written by Clement Arde-Acquah.