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

 "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

In our current readings, we are reading what is known as the High Priestly Prayer, whcih Jesus prayed at the end of the Last Supper.  See the first part of the prayer in Thursday's reading, "Father, the hour has come."  Yesterday we read that Jesus prayed, "I pray for them.  I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.  Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.  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.  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."  My study bible notes here that the Church in every generation participates in the life and glory of the Trinity.  Christians enjoy two kinds of unity, it says:  with God and with one another, the latter being rooted in the former.  Jesus is the glue here that seals us all together:  The Father is in Him and He in the Father, and He prays that believers may also be one in Them.  Note that Jesus prays also of this shared unity in glory, perfection, and love.

"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."  The key to all of Christ's ministry is love:  the ultimate goal of Christ's prayer, and of life itself, my study bible says, is for the love of the Father to dwell in each person. 

We have all heard the phrase "God is love" at one time or another (see 1 John 4:7-8).  But Christ's words here in the High Priestly Prayer really exemplify and elaborate for us the truth of this statement.   Love begins with the Source of all things, God the Father.  But Jesus' prayer sums up true communion in Him:  the love of God the Father, present in Christ whom the Father has sent, also dwelling in each believer, makes unity of the whole.  This is a love that is in itself perfection, and leads us to perfection and true glory.  It is that which glues and holds all together, against which even the gates of hell cannot prevail.  St. Paul writes, in Romans 8, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  This is the experience of one converted, who has found the truth of Christ's words in the prayer for himself, and preaches that love to all who may come to know it for themselves.  We may not completely understand the impact of such love on those who lived two thousand years ago, but each person in every generation needs to experience it for themselves.  Christianity is an experiential faith, a communion that is not simply an intellectual concept or a utopian dream.  It is a living faith made of persons and in the Persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit.  Above all, it is a reality of love that is present for each one.  As human beings, we all strive toward the true fullness of love, but that fullness is present for us to dwell within us, to teach us, to grow in us, so that we may share in the true glory of God and also shine that light into the world.  This is His truth and His word that may dwell within us and among us.  In chapter 16, Jesus tells His disciples at the Last Supper, "Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me."  John's Gospel (and also the Epistles that bear his name) gives us the fullness of God who is love,  in whose love we are invited to participate and welcomed in communion.  Like Christ, to experience this love is to know that we are never alone.  That communion remains the balm for a world always in need of what it brings to each one, and to all of us.  To deny the presence of that which seeks to tear us away from love is futile; we can see the "worldly" all around us.  His sacrifice, the greatest love of all, is made for each.  Of this we can always be assured, in the darkest of times when we need it most.