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Scripture |
John 17:1-11 17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. 6“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
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Devotional |
Jesus’ farewell prayer emphasizes his intimacy with God which is a characteristic of Christian prayer. We, like the disciples and early readers, overhear Jesus’ prayer to God. This is a sample of Jesus’ intimate communication with God. Jesus was praying for himself and his work. The hour was coming for his departure. The “hour” is the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ work and revelation of God. Jesus accomplishes his work through death and resurrection. Because of his death and resurrection and his relationship with the Father, Jesus was able to give eternal life to those who believe. Douglas Wingeier describes eternal life as a way of knowing God. “Eternal life does not mean living forever in heaven, but rather knowing God as Father through the Son. Eternal life is a quality of life that begins now and continues throughout the relationship of love between God, Christ, and faithful community.” 1 Can one experience eternal life here and now? Is eternal life our relationship with God as experienced through the Son within the community of faith? Everything that Jesus had received from God, Jesus is giving the disciples. The intimate relationship and communication Jesus shared with God is also available to his disciples. It could get better farther down the road but for now the possibility of an intimate relationship and communication with God for here and now will work for me. Teresa of Avila said the way to heaven should be a little heaven.
1 Douglas E. Wingeier, Keeping Holy Time. Nashville : Abingdon Press, 2001. p. 197
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