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

 

 "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 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 

 

Beginning with Thursday's reading, the lectionary has given us what is known as Christ's High Priestly Prayer, His prayer to the Father before His seizure by authorities.  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 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."  My study Bible comments that here Jesus prays for those who will believe.  It says that the Church in every generation participates in the life and glory of the Trinity.  Christians enjoy two kinds of unity:  with God and with one another, the latter being rooted in the former.  

"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."   Jesus' profound statements lead us to understand John's Gospel as the Gospel of love.  My study Bible comments 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. 

 Jesus speaks of a union of love.  That union of love is clear within His own relationship to the Father, but what Jesus prays for is not only that the world knows of this love, but that we who are His followers are also drawn into this love as thoroughly and completely as He is:  "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."   In the pagan systems of belief and practice, a god was appeased through sacrifice of some kind.  Meals were eaten with the god also as part of sacrifice and even communion.  But Christ stood this system upside down, as the sacrifice we commemorate is our God's sacrifice for us, and the communion and meal in which we engage is also provided by God's sacrifice for us, a sacrifice most deeply made out of love for us.  And this is the power of Christ.  For this is a God who always loves us and yearns for us to return to that love and to that communion.  Our faith is not magic but depends on this communion of love, our participation in the life of Christ, and indeed, as He prays here, in the union of Father, Son, and Spirit.  In the ancient world, the pagan gods were capricious and could be quite cruel; gods were appeased so that they would "do something" for those who made the sacrifice.  But there is no manipulation in Jesus, there is only love, and this prayer exemplifies for us and outlines the love of God the Father that begins it all, that defines and leads Christ the Son, that reaches out to us to include us in this communion.  And that is what we must remember.  We live in a world that so often still seems to abide by the laws of the harsh gods:  capricious, manipulative, coercive, cruel, duplicitous, where might makes right and trust is hard to find anywhere.  And when we look at "the world" and observe these things, let us consider the singular importance, the paramount contribution to our lives of Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father which He teaches us.  For love is in short supply when we are left to our own devices and outcomes.  Therefore, our participation in God's love becomes even more essential when we face warring outcomes in a world where there are no perfect solutions, and violence reigns.  Let us understand how deeply we need God's love at all times, but especially in times of stress when there is so much temptation to fall into patterns of hatred and rash behavior.  For it is God's love that stabilizes a life in which needs for love aren't being met, security and stability are imperfect, and fear knocks at the heart.  Without this love, we are lost to so much cruelty; but with God's love we have hope to live and dwell in a Kingdom where our love is shared and known.  Christ prays to the Father, "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."   Through grace, that Name is being declared over and over in us, for us, even through us, that the love with which the Father loves the Son may be in us, and Christ in us, for this is the true gospel of the Kingdom.