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"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, that the love with which you loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
- John 17:20-26
Since last Monday, we've been reading through Jesus' Farewell Discourse to the apostles. Starting with this Monday's reading, Jesus began what is known as the High Priestly Prayer, a prayer to the Father at the Last Supper. Yesterday, we read that He prayed, of the apostles, "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom you gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."
"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." Here my study bible says of "those who will believe" that the Church in every generation participates in the life and glory of the Trinity. It says that Christians enjoy two kinds of unity: with God and with one another, the latter being rooted in the former. We recall Jesus' words in Monday's reading, that to know God is eternal life. For "those who believe" to be "one in Us" is to know God, and to know God in a relationship of love. But let us note, Jesus' great desire is for faith: "that the world may believe that You sent Me."
"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." Here is again an iteration of the same statement, but this time focusing on the glory shared between Father and Son and also with those of faith. This glory works "so that they may be one just as We are one" -- and so "that the world may know that You have sent Me." And we get the more explicit meaning of being one: that the Father has "loved them as You have loved Me."
"Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." Here is the depth of prayer for "one-ness" (and a third iteration) -- that we the sheep of the Good Shepherd may be with Him even as He is seated at the right hand of the Father, in His glory. In so beholding this glory, we may understand a depth of love that is beyond any love we know, a love that is and has been "before the foundation of the world." This is our goal, our real home.
"O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them your name, and will declare it, that the love with which you loved Me may be in them, and I in them." My study bible says here that the ultimate goal of Christ's prayer, and indeed of life itself, is for the love of the Father to dwell in each person.
This is perhaps the most profound expression of love in the Gospels. That is, Jesus declares that love is being one with God, and that He wants this not only in terms of the relationship that He already has with the Father, but that we who believe the Father has sent Christ the Son may also be one with Father and Son. And there is more: that we may share in and behold the glory which the Father shares with the Son, even as He is Lord and seated at the right hand of the Father. The apostles have been given a glimpse of this glory at the Transfiguration, which we read of in the Synoptic Gospels. But here Jesus gives a new dimension to glory, that it is shared between Father and Son, but also that Christ's desire is that we also may see it and know it. This is a kind of invitation that is monumental, because what it does is invite human beings into a kind of grand participation in something so far beyond us that we can't grasp what it means unless we are able to behold it. And this glory is all connected with love. Glory is the very value and goodness of God. Christ seems to be saying that His prayer is that we know how the Father loves Him, and has loved Him before the foundation of all the world, so that we, too, may share in and live in this love. Oneness becomes a oneness of love and even of glory, in the sense that He desires that we be with Him, even as He is Lord, not "only" Jesus of Nazareth. Overall the message of oneness, which as we've looked closely now appears here three times as explicitly stated in Jesus' prayer to the Father, becomes the fullness of love such as we've not known it. His prayer is that we may know it and share in it, that faith or belief comes in the depth of such love, the awareness of it and our participation in it. Jesus is about to go to the Cross, but His will here is for not only His close disciples, the Twelve who are with Him (with one sad exception who will be lost), but also for those who will believe through the word of these apostles to be one with Him and the Father, one in love, and and in beholding the full glory the Father shares with the Son. This is the reality of the message. And while the words may seem so far beyond us as to be only or exclusively "other-worldly" -- Jesus speaks of the full glory of His role as Son and also Lord -- I would rather say they are timeless. Eternal life as it is iterated and reiterated especially in this particular gospel doesn't only mean a life after our worldly life, but a life that is not limited by anything: not by time, not by death, not by space. The Kingdom exists in us even as we are in the world "but not of it." His glory we can get some glimpses of and is shared with us, the love that is from before the foundation of the world is something that also dwells in us, that we can come to learn and grow into throughout the life of faith, the oneness is something we are to be a part of in the here and now, to the best capacity we have to do so. We see this glory manifest in human beings, particular in those we call saints. And we also have the promise of the Spirit, which will be sent by the Father, the One who will lead us into all truth, and teach us and live with us so that we may come to truly "know" the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. We are somehow without time on this journey and there are no limits to this love and the "knowing" which we will continue to grow into. That is the path, the way, the journey. It isn't an invitation to wear rose-colored glasses, to live in a world without evil in it, but it's an invitation to know God, and know the love of God, and God's glory to the best extent we can, even as we live in the world that is imperfect. Let's look more closely at this prayer. Jesus prays, "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." He has given us His glory that we may be one just as He and the Father are one -- and that we may be made perfect in one. Oneness, glory, perfection, and love. These are the keys to faith, and the keys to spreading this Kingdom into the world. It is living in this love, with this glory, and growing in knowledge and oneness that brings light into the world and shines the Kingdom into a place that is far from perfect. So, can we be these people He prays about? Can we live as He asks us? Without faith, I'd say, it's impossible. And without the love of God in which we share, a growing "knowing" of God in which we are able to participate, and even without the glory of God which is given even to us, I don't think it's meant to work at all. We must seek to be a part of all these things and hope for them and expect for them to be a part of our daily lives, even as we live in a world that disappoints and fears and tears down the possibilities of this love. It's our way to bear His life into the world, and His truth. So we, too, can follow in His prayer, which connects us to it all, "that the love with which you loved Me may be in them, and I in them." Today's reading has the fullness of love and what it means, the most profound message of the Bible. These are the promises we count on.
