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 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 reading, the lectionary is giving us what is known as Christ's High Priestly Prayer.   The setting is the Last Supper, just after Christ's Farewell Discourse to the disciples (John 14 - 16), and just prior to His arrest.  The first part of this prayer is found in Thursday's reading.  Yesterday we read the second part, and today we're given the third and final part of the prayer.  In yesterday's reading, 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 comments here regarding those who will believe.   It notes that the Church in every generation participates in the life and glory of the Trinity.  It remarks that Christians enjoy two kinds of unity:  with God and with one another, the latter being rooted in the former.  See Matthew 22:36-40.

"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."  My study Bible notes here that the ultimate goal of Christ's High Priestly Prayer, and indeed of life itself for all of us, is for the love of the Father to dwell in each person.  

Perhaps the most important statement we will read in all the Bible is just this one by Jesus, "that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."  As He puts it here, this is a declaration of the intent of all of His ministry, His purpose, why He has "declared to them Your name, and will declare it."  It's intriguing that on the very eve of His arrest, which is imminent here, Jesus speaks of the future, that He will declare it [the Name of God the Father].  Perhaps the greatest declaration of the Name of the Father is Christ's glorification on the Cross, and His Resurrection.  But perhaps also this passage speaks to the ongoing activity of the Trinity in our world and in our midst (Luke 17:21).  Perhaps both are true, that Christ's witness to the Father will fully manifest in His sacrificial love for us and His Resurrection; but also at the same time, He will live in us, continually declaring the Name of God so that it dwells in us and through us in the world.  If we look closely at this last statement, it sums up Christ's whole prayer by couching everything in love.  Christ repeatedly speaks of unity between the Trinity and believers; in this we can assume the whole cosmos is a part of this mission.  But His final statement truly teaches us what He means:  "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 declaration of God's name is a pronouncement of love, of love going out and resting within the hearts that will receive it, and will reciprocate. Jesus speaks, then, of an entire created order couched, held, received, and permeated by love.  And in this love is our communion with Creator and one another -- even the great love of the Father for the Son is that in which we all may share.  May your life be blessed with the knowing of this love and its ever-flowing expression through us as well.  For so we also glorify God.