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Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
"I have manifested your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me."
- John 17:1-8
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, and the lectionary did not give us a Gospel reading as part of the Daily Office. On Tuesday, we read about Jesus' appearance before Pilate: They -- that is the religious leadership, after Jesus' night appearance at the home of the high priest -- led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?" They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you." Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die. Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him." These words refer to Jesus' words to His disciples at the Last Supper, which comprise chapters 14-16. From Tuesday's reading in which Jesus stood before Pilate, the lectionary jumps "backward" in chronological order of events, and we are at the Last Supper. My study bible tells us that His words, the hour has come, signify that Christ is in charge of time. "He cannot be crucified until He is ready (10:18); He 'voluntarily willed to ascend the Cross in His flesh' [quoting from an Orthodox hymn]. Glorify refers to the exaltation as well as the eternal glory of the preexistent Christ. The hour is that of His death: the sacrifice of the Lamb of God made once and for all. This is Jesus' exaltation upon the Cross -- the completion of the work of salvation for which He was sent by the Father. In this, both the Father and the Son are victoriously glorified. This is why the Cross, a sign of death, is glorified in the Orthodox Church as 'life giving.' God is glorified when salvation and eternal life come to His people."
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." My study bible suggests that "the knowledge of God, which is eternal life, goes far beyond rational or academic pursuit; it is participation in divine life and communion with God. Thus, eternal life -- life proper to the age to come -- is an ongoing, loving knowledge of God in Christ."
"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." Here, my study bible says, "For Christians, there are two important and interrelated aspects of Christ: (1) who He is: the eternal Son of God incarnate; and (2) His work: accomplished through His Incarnation. His work is not limited to the Cross. It incorporates everything from His conception to the womb of Mary to His ascension and enthronement in the eternal Kingdom." Jesus speaks again here about an eternal reality, in the "glory which I had with You before the world was."
"I have manifested your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me." My study bible says, "The men whom You have given Me are the Apostles. It is the Apostles who receive the Word of the Father from the Son and pass it on to those 'who will believe in Me through their word' (verse 20). The Apostles as a body -- not primarily Peter, nor any individual preacher or teacher -- are the ones through whom God's Word comes to us. This is what is meant by apostolic tradition. Isaiah 52:6 prophesies that in the messianic days the knowledge of the Name, which is an extension of the being and power of God, will be revealed (see Rev. 3:12, 22:4). Your name: In Old Testament times the term 'the Name' was reverently used as a substitute for God's actual name, 'Yahweh.' Although all humans belong to God, the fuller revelation of the Name was given only to those who were given to the Savior from out of the world. The word they have kept is Jesus' revelation, and especially the new commandment to love one another, which is a definitive mark of discipleship (13:34)."
While I think it's important that my study bible points out the understanding of apostolic tradition, I also think it's important here to understand that this word in Greek for "men" (in the phrase, "I have manifested Your name to the men You have given Me out of the world") is a word that is used to mean "human beings" -- both men and women. That's not to say that He's not praying here specifically for His disciples with Him at the Last Supper, those who will go out to the world to declare His Name, to teach what He has taught them. Rather, it's to understand that when Jesus opens to us these words, as He prays to the Father, they are words that apply to all of us, to each of us. My study bible cites verse 20, later on in chapter 17: "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word." And so, we are to understand the interrelated nature of this "knowledge of the Name." When Christ teaches, again to His disciples at the Last Supper, "I am the vine, you are the branches," He's teaching us about the nature of His Church. All the branches and tendrils and leaves that flow from a vine become a particular character: they are entwined, they flow immeasurably, and only the vinedresser can remove one. I think in this we are to see our Church, and all the myriad of people who may help us to know the Name, to come to Him, to grow in our understanding and experience of God, through Christ, and in relationship. All the characters of the Gospel come to mind, a we think of those women who are titled "Apostle to the Apostles," and the word that came via Mary Magdalene from the empty tomb. In this vision of the Church as vine and branches, let us remember that we may be called not only to knowledge of the Name, but also to be a part of the light that is reflected through ourselves in order to illumine the Name for others. My study bible introduces us to a beautiful understanding in speaking of "participation in divine life and communion with God." Eternal life -- therefore as it notes, life proper to the age to come -- and an "ongoing, loving knowledge of God in Christ" becomes something in which, in one way and another, we may all participate and share, with the Apostles. In another note, my study bible pointed out that Christ is Lord of time, and it's really quite remarkable how the Scriptures can reflect this particular understanding of time: Pilate's question of Tuesday's reading, "What is truth?" is profoundly answered by Jesus' words in today's reading (which technically came in the Gospel in an earlier chapter). Time, when we are speaking about our faith, doesn't really work in the ways we're used to: we enter into this "abiding in Him" together with the Apostles and all who came before, as well as those who are to come. That would include the Old Testament figures such as Isaiah as well, when we really listen for the meaning behind what it is to truly know God, and to continue in that ongoing knowledge -- just as we come to "know" the human beings we love. We are all in this together. Let us remember the light we shine to one another, how knowledge of His Name comes, and continues, through relationship and love. This kind of knowing is unlimited, unending, but it is good to know we are all on the journey together.
