I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do

 

 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.  

 

"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.

 

- John 17:1-11 

 

In the current schedule of lectionary readings, we have been given Jesus' Farewell Discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus told them, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."  Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?"  They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'?  We do not know what He is saying."  Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?  Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy.  A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  And in that day you will ask Me nothing.  Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  As, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.  I came forth from the Father and have come into the world.  Again, I leave the world and go to the Father." His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!  Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God."  Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?  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.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 

 

  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."  My study Bible tells us that Christ's prayer, begun in today's reading, is often called the High Priestly Prayer, because it contains the basic elements of prayer which a priest offers to God when a sacrifice is about to be made.  These are:  glorification (verses 3-5, 25); remembrance of God's works (verses 2, 6-8, 22-23); intercession on behalf of others (verses 9, 11, 15, 20, 21, 24); and a declaration of the offering itself (verses 1, 5).  In the Orthodox Church, verses 1-13 are read on the occasion of remembering the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (Nicea I) in AD 325.  This is because at that council the heresy of Arianism was condemned, which taught that the Son of God was created by the Father, and that there was a time when the Son of God did not exist.  Christ's words bear witness to His divinity, and to His filial relationship with the Father.  My study Bible says that this testimony is sufficient in itself to dismiss Arianism.  The hour has come signifies that Christ is Lord over time.  A hymn of Lent proclaims, "He voluntarily willed to ascend the Cross in the flesh."  Glorify, my study Bible explains, is a reference to the redemption of all creation that will be accomplished through the Cross and Resurrection -- the purpose for which Christ was sent into the world.  In this redemption, the Father and the Son are glorified. This is why the Cross, which is a sign of death, is glorified in the Church as "life-giving," called the "weapon of peace."

 

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."  The knowledge of the only true God is far more than intellectual understanding, my study Bible comments.  It is, in fact, participation in Christ's divine life, and in communion with Him.  Therefore, eternal life is, effectively, an ongoing and loving knowledge of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit.

"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."  Christ's work, my study Bible says, can never be separated from who He is.   This verse ("I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do") is a statement each believer can make at the end of life, no matter how long or short that life may be.

"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."   The men whom You have given Me is a reference to the apostles.  They are the ones through whom God's word comes to us, my study Bible says.  It explains that this handing down of God's word to successive generations is called apostolic tradition.  Isaiah prophesied that in the days of the Messiah, the knowledge of the Name of God would be revealed (Isaiah 52:6).  Your name:  In the times of the Old Testament, the phrase "the Name" was reverently used as a substitute for God's actual Name "Yahweh," which was too sacred to pronounce.  The more full revelation of the Name was given to those who believe in Christ, my study Bible explains, as Christ manifested the Name not only by declaring the Father, but by being the very presence of God and also sharing the Name with Him.

"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."  My study Bible notes that Christ first prayed for Himself (verses 1-5) and secondly, for them, the apostles (verses 6-19).  It is only afterward that He will pray for those whom You have given Me.  That is, all who will come to believe in Him (verses 20-26).  My study Bible comments that here the world is the portion of humanity in rebellion against God, those who prefer darkness to His light.

"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."  Holy Father, my study Bible points out, is echoed in the eucharistic prayer of Didache 10:2:  "We give you thanks, Holy Father, for Your holy name which You have made to dwell in our hearts."

 

In today's reading, we observe that Jesus makes it very clear He knows He is going to the Cross, and that this act, in this special hour, is one that is central to His glory, or glorification by the Father.  We may well ask what "glory" and "glorification" means, as so much of today's part of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer is concerned with the idea of glory.  Glory is ascribed to Himself (Glorify Your Son), to God the Father (that Your Son also may glorify You), to the work that Christ has done on earth (I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do), to Father and Son together (O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself), and even to the disciples (And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them).  So let us consider what "glory" means, and what it means to "glorify."  The word for glory in Greek is δόξα/doxa.  According to Strong's Dictionary, this word literally means "what evokes good opinion; that is, that something has inherent, intrinsic worth."  This word can also be associated with weight, as in substance, and also value.  (At the time of Christ, the value of coins, for example, was correlated with weight, such as the value of a certain amount of gold or silver.)  But in the case of this meaning, to glorify, or to possess glory, we are speaking of good opinion, a value that is recognized, known, and understood.  We might think of it as to make precious.   But what we might think of in social terms as the currency of good opinion or popularity is not really the same as the meaning here.  That is because this particular glory is rooted in the Father, is given by the Father, is achieved only by virtue of living the life of the Father (manifesting God's name), and glorifying the Father.  We might say that this glory comes through positive association with the Father; it is rooted in this Source.  Therefore Christ can ask the Father to glorify Him, and in turn glorify the Father.  In turn, Christ Himself is glorified in His apostles, "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."  To glorify (again according to Strong's Greek Dictionary) is also to give honor, to to ascribe weight by recognizing real substance (value).  To glorify God in this context means valuing God for who God really is. Thus, for example, "giving (or ascribing) glory to God" personally acknowledges God in His true character (God's essence).  So we glorify God by our own recognition of God, God's goodness and truth and beauty, and the same is therefore true of Christ -- even through us.  So, with all of this, let us take into account what it means to glorify God, and for God to be glorified through us.  When we live our lives according to Christ's word, we recognize the value in that word.  When we live "in His name," and following His commandments according to His will, we glorify Christ, because we are showing the value and esteem in which we hold Him.  If we think about it, glorification would also include gratitude, for glorification -- according to the definition quoted -- implies a recognition of intrinsic worth, an esteem.  How can we glorify that which we take for granted, or for which we don't bother to feel any gratitude?  If we glorify God, and God is glorified through us, then, it means more than to pay a kind of nominal honor or praise.  It means to live the commandments given by Christ from the Father, to honor God's name or Person through the "work" that we do, just as Christ did so by completing the work given to Him.  Let us consider, then, what glory is and what we choose to glorify.  For glorifying Christ (and God the Father) implies giving honor to all that is offered through Christ, through His work in the world, and that necessitates a certain way of life, the honor we show in all our choices in life, the glory we bring to God through expressions of that honor and true esteem.  Let us be like Christ, and take wisely our choices for the "work" we do.