EASTER 7  

Sts. Matthew & Mark, Barrington, R. I.

May 17, 2026

 

Acts 1:6-14

 

“Then they returned to Jerusalem … When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying …”

 

When I went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land four years ago, one of the places we visited was the Cenacle or Upper Room on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Over the centuries, at least three different churches have stood on the site. The present Gothic building dates from the twelfth century. But there’s no reason to suppose that it may not be the location mentioned in today’s reading from Acts, where the apostles stayed in Jerusalem during the days of our Lord’s death, Resurrection, and Ascension.

 

Christian tradition identifies this Upper Room as the location of the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, at least two of our Lord’s Resurrection appearances, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, which we shall celebrate a week from today.  What sort of place, then, was this Upper Room?

In biblical Palestine, houses were generally built one story high, with flat roofs accessible by exterior staircases. The roof was the location of many and varied activities. During the heat of summer, people might sleep on the roof where it was cooler than in the enclosed spaces below. Sometimes people also pitched tents on their roofs; those with larger houses might even erect makeshift shelters. Eventually, these light structures became, in effect, second stories. When guests came to stay, they might literally be “put up” in one of these dwellings, where the outside staircase allowed them free access. And hosting a meal or party, one might seat one’s guests upstairs in one of these rooftop pavilions.

 

It seems likely, then, that when our Lord and his disciples came to Jerusalem, they received guest accommodation in just such a space. The room must have been large enough to accommodate them all and to serve as the setting for the Last Supper. According to tradition, the upper room or cenacle became, in effect, the first Christian Church. 

 

(By the way, the word “cenacle” comes from the Latin cenaculum, which means something like “dining room” or “banquet hall.” In ancient Rome, such rooms were usually also located in the buildings’ upper floors.)

In our reading from Acts, St. Luke records that after our Lord’s Ascension, the eleven apostles returned to the upper room; and, after listing them by name, he adds: “All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.” (By the way, the Greek word translated here as “brothers” can be translated equally accurately as “male relatives” or “kinsmen.”)

 

In any case, before his Ascension, Jesus told the apostles that they’d be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. But first, they must remain in the city until the Holy Spirit descends and they’re clothed with power from on high. 

 

Thus, the interval between the Ascension and Pentecost becomes a time of waiting and prayer. The apostles have just completed one phase of formation and preparation—of being with the risen Lord and of receiving his teaching and instruction for the forty days after his Resurrection. Now, they’re about to embark upon a whole new phase, namely their mission as the Church to the world, impelled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. But Pentecost doesn’t happen right away. There’s an in-between time, an interim period, a breathing space, to begin to absorb all that’s happened, and to get ready as far as humanly possible for what comes next.

Notice also the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the apostles during this time of waiting. Yesterday, the Saturday after the Ascension, is observed in some Catholic churches as the Feast of Our Lady, Queen of Apostles. This title invokes the image of Mary praying together with the apostles in the upper room. According to an ancient tradition, Mary’s prayers during this period were instrumental in obtaining for the apostles the graces that they would receive from the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

 

The apostles gather in the upper room to watch, wait, prepare, and pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The upper room thus symbolizes all the interim periods in our lives, the times of waiting and preparation. 

 

This week, Elizabeth and I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary, and in just over two weeks, I’ll be marking the anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. Before ordination, bishops, priests, and deacons often undertake an extended silent retreat—a time to reflect and pray in preparation for receiving the Holy Spirit’s empowerment for ordained ministry through the bishop’s laying on of hands. The Church’s spiritual tradition similarly recommends such a time apart for those about to receive the other sacraments of initiation and vocation: namely, Baptism, Confirmation, and Matrimony. 

By extension of the same principle, it’s not a bad idea at times of transition in our lives, such as preparing to move, graduate, take on a new job, or retire. In all these ways, we follow the example of the apostles who retreated to the upper room for a season before commencing their mission as the Church.

 

Just as the Upper Room became the first Christian church, so this Church of Saints Matthew and Mark is an Upper Room for all of us who gather here: the place where we share the sacrificial meal that Christ instituted at the Last Supper; the place where we meet the risen Lord in his Word and Sacraments; the place where the Holy Spirit empowers us for Christ’s mission in the world. 

 

As one of my favorite hymns puts it: “We meet as in that upper room they met ...” (That’s hymn number 305: “Come risen Lord, and deign to be our guest.”) We do well, then, to remain faithful in returning to this upper room. Here, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the apostles, and all the angels and saints, we pray for and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.