Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me

 

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  

 

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  

 

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

 

"If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

 

- John 14:1-17 

 

This week the lectionary focuses on Jesus' final discourse to the apostles at the Last Supper, known as the Farewell Discourse.  He has given the disciples one final, new commandment.  He said to them, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).  This is the foundation for His Church going forward. 

 

  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."   My study Bible comments that many mansions is a word-picture, a kind of parable, of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  "Mansions" also speaks of the multitude of blessings that await those who enter the Kingdom of God.  In the ancient world, it was typical that extended families formed clans in which living accommodations were spaced together, and extended as family expanded.  Hence, "many mansions" conjures a picture of a very large extended family.  See Mark 3:32-35.

 

 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."   Jesus defines Himself here as the way, the truth, and the life.  My study Bible remarks that the way we reach the Father is forever established in the Person and work of the Son.  The Son is the truth because He is the unique revelation of the Father.  Additionally, Christ is the life who became Man so that we may have life, and as He is our life, not even death can stop us from coming to Him.  Furthermore, only in Christ can we come to know the Father, because only in Christ is the way of all truth and all life found.  The word in Greek translated as "way" is also used to mean road or path.

 

 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"  My study Bible explains that our response to Christ determines our relationship with God the Father.  It says that if we reject Christ then we will never find the Father; but if we believe in Christ and follow Him, then we ourselves will become "children of God," who live eternally in the love of the Father (John 1:12).  

 

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."  While human beings are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26), my study Bible reminds us, the Incarnate Son is Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Jesus did not say, "I am the Father," for He isn't the Father.  Instead, here He declares that He and the Father are one in essence, and undivided in nature, while being distinct Persons of the Godhead, the Holy Trinity.  

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."  My study Bible comments that the greater works indicate that Christ's working through mere humans after Pentecost is greater than His performing signs and wonders directly.  These works find testimony in the Book of Acts.  They include spreading the gospel throughout the world, miraculous healings, and raising the dead.  

 

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."  According to my study Bible, to pray in Christ's name does not mean to simply attach the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers.  To pray in Christ's name means to pray according to His will.  Just as an emissary of a king can only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say, my study Bible explains, so also we can only be said to be praying in the name of Christ when we pray according to what He wants.  The purpose here is not to get God to do our will (that would be akin to practicing magic), but for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10).  

 

"If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."  Helper (in the Greek,  Παρακλητος/Parakletos, often rendered "Paraklete") is a reference to the Holy Spirit.  This title, my study Bible explains, also means "Comforter," "Counselor," and "Advocate."  The Spirit of truth is in every believer, my study Bible notes here, and we are called to know Him.  Moreover, the Holy Spirit prays in us and for us when we do not know how to pray, thereby enabling us to pray in Christ's name (John 14:3-14; Romans 8:26) and giving us words of witness when we speak the gospel (Mark 13:11).

 

Let us consider what it means to pray -- and indeed, to live -- in the name of Christ.  For one thing, as we read in Jesus' words here, where Christ is, so the Father is also.  This means, additionally, the presence of the Holy Spirit, for where One of the Holy Trinity is, there the others are also.  The word used most often for the Holy Trinity, in describing the essence of God, is consubstantial.  This means that although Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct Persons, they are one in their essence or substance.  So, therefore, Jesus can say, in His Incarnation as the Christ, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."  Whatever we see Christ do, whatever we read that He said, the commandments He has given, and all the ways in which He has instructed the disciples from the beginning of His ministry right through this moment recorded at the Last Supper, He has reflected God the Father.  When, for example, He taught, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35), this commandment also reflects to us the Father, and indeed, the Holy Spirit.  St. John, the author of this Gospel, is also the one who wrote in one of his Epistles, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8).  As followers of Christ, so we are also called to participate in His life, and share in this nature; that is, to grow in "image and likeness" as we are able and through cooperation with the Holy Spirit, the Helper Christ names in today's reading.  In seeking to guide us regarding praying "in His name" we should consider that Christ Himself has said, as cited above, "For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother" (Mark 3:35).  This is about a lived reality, a participation in the life of Christ.  This understanding is particularly embodied in the Eucharist, which Jesus will introduce to His disciples at this Last Supper, taking place just prior to His betrayal and arrest, shortly before His death and Resurrection.  This lived reality is so essential to the understanding of Christ's faith that we receive Christ as a gift from the Father, Incarnate as the human Jesus, so that we understand what it is to be "embodied" in His name:  just as He explains that those who see Him see the Father, and so we are meant also to grow -- through God's grace and our acceptance and participation in it -- in the same image and likeness.  Thus, His final commandment that we love one another as He has loved us -- and that by so doing, all will know that we are His disciples.  In the same sense, our prayer, if we truly pray in His name, is to reflect our "embodiment" of our faith, our participation to the greatest extent possible for us at any time, in His life and the life He offers to us.  Let us endeavor to find His way, and truth, and life for us.  Jesus begins, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me."  In the Greek, to "believe" is translated from a word whose root is to trust.  Let us commit ourselves to this trust, for this is the way we learn how to live.

 

 

 

The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!

 

 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat of the Passover?"  And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.  Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us."  So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as he had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.  In the evening He came with the twelve.  Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me."  And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?"  And another said, "Is it I?"  He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."

 

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

- Mark 14:12–26 

 

Yesterday we read that after two days (following Jesus' prophesy of the "end times" to the disciples) it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people."  And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard.  Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.  But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted?  For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor."  And they criticized her sharply.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone.  Why do you trouble her?  She has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.  She has done what she could.  She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.  Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."   Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.  And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money.  So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.

 

  Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat of the Passover?"  The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) date the Crucifixion to the first day of Passover.  But St. John's Gospel dates it to Preparation Day, the day before Passover.  So this Passover meal is the occasion of the Last Supper here in St. Mark's Gospel.  In St. John's Gospel, Jesus dies at the exact time they killed the Passover lamb.  My study Bible comments that, while it is impossible to determine which is historically accurate, both traditions are theologically accurate -- the Mystical Supper which Jesus initiates in today's reading is the fulfillment of the Passover meal (synoptic tradition), and Christ's death is the fulfillment of the Passover lambs being slain (St. John's tradition).  

 

 And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.  Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us."  So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as he had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.  These two disciples are identified in St. Luke's Gospel as Peter and John (Luke 22:8).  Let us note once again, as in Christ's instructions for preparation for His entrance into Jerusalem (see this reading) Jesus gives very particular and explicit directions to the disciples for this preparation for the Passover Supper.  

 

  In the evening He came with the twelve.  Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me."  And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?"  And another said, "Is it I?"  He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish."   My study Bible comments that here Christ emphasizes both that His betrayer is one of the twelve and also that he is one who dips with Me in the dish not so much to identify who the person is, as to emphasize the level of betrayal.  He indicates that this was one of His closest friends (see Psalm 55:13-18).  That he "dips with Me in the dish" indicates a communion that will be betrayed and broken. 

 

 "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."  My study Bible notes that divine foreknowledge of the betrayal does not take away Judas' moral freedom or his accountability for his act.  For God, it says, all things are a present reality; God foresees all human actions, but does not cause them.  

 

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."   The Greek word meaning to give thanks has at its root the word ευχαριστω/eucharisto.  Eucharist (or, in Greek, ευχαριστια/euxaristia) immediately came to refer to both the Liturgy and also the sacrament of Holy Communion, as explained by my study Bible.  It refers us to the Didache, a teaching manuscript written before the end of the first century, in which we find the celebration of the Liturgy referred to as "the Eucharist."  In 150 Ad, St. Justin says of Holy Communion, "This food we call 'Eucharist,' of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing [holy baptism] for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ commanded us."  Jesus says, "This is My body."  In the Orthodox Church, my study Bible says, these words have always been accepted as true.  According to St. Justin, "that the word of prayer which comes from Him is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus."  

 

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.   This hymn is a psalm from a group of psalms which were traditionally sung after the Passover meal (Psalms 116-118).

 

My study Bible says that Christ puts emphasis on the depth of betrayal by Judas toward Christ.  First of all, we may approach this subject by understanding what my study Bible says about Judas' responsibility for his act.  Divine foreknowledge does not erase his accountability or his moral freedom in choosing to betray Christ.  Of course we know Jesus' words regarding the consequences of such an act: "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."   We need to consider betrayal and what it means, exactly.  Betrayal is a type of ultimate lie, for what has been presented as the truth to a person or a group of persons -- within this communion of the disciples, imaged in Jesus' phrase, "one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish" -- is betrayed to all of them.  To violate a trust goes perhaps more deeply into our understanding of faith than we might usually consider, for in the Greek of the Gospels, the very word translated as faith or belief has as its root the word for "trust" (πιστις/pistis).  As "trust" relates to truth, we need to consider the betrayal of Christ as a kind of great lie, as is the betrayal of any friendship or depth of relationship that we know.  Somehow that trust is twisted by the lie of betrayal, and it is a denial of that relationship.  So the destruction of right-relationship, or righteousness, is a break in the goodness God asks of us, and gives us in the power to love.  In the Revelation we read, "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie" (Revelation 22:14-15).  That "whoever loves and practices a lie" gives us a sense of the spiritual impact of betrayal, in that it turns a relationship of trust into a lie.  Perhaps we could say that, building upon that understanding, the betrayal of Christ, who is not only a Friend and Teacher in this context, but our Creator and Lord and author of all goodness.  And, as we know that God is love (1 John 4:8), Judas' act of betrayal is a betrayal not only of divinity and goodness, but of pure love itself.  Therefore the "woe" that Jesus pronounces on the betrayer is one of those profound condemnations reserved only for those in such a category (see also Matthew 23).  Let us, in response even today, seek God's love as our basis for how we live our lives and forge our relationships, and continue as disciples in the trust of the Communion He gives us.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover

 

 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. 

 

 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  

 

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you  carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

 

- Luke 21:37-22:13 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His prophesies of destruction to come in Jerusalem, and of the end of the age, Jesus spoke to the disciples a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

 

  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.   During this Passover season, in the final week of Christ's earthly life, He lives as another pilgrim to Jerusalem, staying on the mountain called Olivet.  The setting is here for what will happen.  We note His popularity as all the people come gladly to the temple to hear Him.   

 

  Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  My study Bible comments that the Passover (Greek Πασχα/Pascha) is the celebration of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12 - 14).  In remembrance of this, an unblemished lamb was slaughtered, and the Jews would partake of it with unleavened bread, as was eaten at the first Passover.  My study Bible says this is a prefiguration of Christ's Passion, in which the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from their bondage to sin and death, and then is raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  So, therefore, Pascha is the primary term by which the Orthodox and many others refer to the death and Resurrection of Christ, known in the West as Easter.  Note also how this passage explains that the religious leaders (the chief priests and scribes) fear the people due to Christ's popularity among them.

 

 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study Bible explains that Satan does not enter person except by that person's consent.  The reason Satan chose Judas, it says, and none of the others, is because Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, and the others did not.  Luke's mention of Judas as numbered among the twelve gives an emphasis to the depth of the betrayal and shows that religious position is worthless if not accompanied by faith and virtue.  Once again, there is an emphasis on the popularity of Jesus.  His betrayal and seizure must happen in the absence of the multitude.  

 

 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you  carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.  Once again, my study Bible notes the use of the term Pascha, or Passover.  It notes that this word can refer to the original event itself, or the celebration of that event, or the food that is eaten, or even the lamb that is slain.  According to patristic commentary, Peter represents zeal and John represents spiritual understanding, the virtues with which we all are to partake of the Lord's Supper.    We note again, as we did with the disciples preparations for Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the careful and deliberate preparations for this meal Jesus gives to the disciples.  

 

As today is celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist in many Christian denominations across the world, it is perhaps fitting for us to consider the Baptist's testimony to Christ, and the role he played in Christ's ministry, for this reading involving the preparations for the Passover Supper, and the celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem at this last week of Christ's earthly human life.   It was John the Baptist who proclaimed, in introducing his own disciples to Jesus, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"  In other words, John's role as a prophet is fulfilled in this prophesy of Christ as the Passover Lamb, who will be slain on the Cross, and in so doing, take away the sin of the world.  The Passover lamb was an offering in commemoration of God's liberation and freedom from slavery for the people of God; that is, Israel.  As St. Paul writes, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).  In the first Passover, all those with the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorpost of their homes were freed to become Israel, the people of God.  Christ is our Passover Lamb whose blood unites us into one people, and liberates us from slavery to sin.  For as our Passover Lamb, with His voluntary sacrifice, He will be the One who judges, the One who sets free, the One with the power to forgive sins, so that we may dwell in Him and in His name.  Moreover, in the tradition of the Orthodox Church, St. John the Baptist also preceded Christ into hades, and preached His coming to the souls there, where, after He was slain and before His Resurrection, He would trample on the power of the devil and death, another essential aspect of liberation in His role as Passover Lamb.  This is the power of our Passover Lamb who unites us into one people and gives us freedom.  In the Revelation, St. John the Theologian (the same St. John who was Christ's disciple, and gave us one Gospel and three Epistles) writes of a Lamb standing, as if slain, in the midst of the throne of heaven (see Revelation 5:6).  This is a clear reference to Christ our Passover, triumphant and in authority over the cosmos.  Christ is our Passover, not because He had to "pay" a debt, but because He takes His place as the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) for our liberation, for His authority to forgive sins and free us from the devil and death.  Ultimately the Cross is the great sign of victory for precisely this reason, for the power of the devil is debt and slavery to sin, and Christ is the One who holds all of it in His hand and has the power to forgive and to set free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love

Christ the true vine; 13th century.  Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece

 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  

"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

 

- John 15:1-11 

 

We are currently reading through Christ's words to the apostles at the Last Supper, in what is called the Farewell Discourse.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said to them, "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.  These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love  the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.  Arise, let us go from here."

 

  "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."  My study Bible comments that the vine is a symbol of Israel (Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21).  In contrast to disobedient and unfruitful Israel, it says, our Lord calls Himself the true vine, which together with the branches constitutes a new and fruitful people of God:  the Church.  In the divine liturgy of the Orthodox Church, the bishop prays that the Lord will visit and confirm the vineyard, the local body of Christ, is planted with His own right hand (Psalm 80:15-16).  To abide in this vine is to abide in Christ and His Church.  My study Bible comments that the figure of the vine and the branches shows first that our union with Christ is intimate and real; second, that life flows from the vine to the branches.  In other words, abiding in Christ is dynamic and vitalizing.  Finally, the fruit we bear is both good works and mission (John 15:16; 17:18).

 

 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."  My study Bible notes here that one cannot love God and disobey His commandments.  To love God, as Jesus taught in yesterday's reading, is to obey God (John 14:15).  

Jesus teaches us something more about love in today's reading.  He says,  "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love."   He seems to say to us, to tell us through these words, that love comes from somewhere.  Love has a Source, and that Source is God.  As long as we know that we are created by a loving Father, then we know that there is love, and that love is part of who we are because it comes from the ultimate Source of all things.  Jesus teaches us, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love."   We express and live our love for Christ by keeping His commandments, and in this way we become like Him -- for He has kept the Father's commandments and so abides in the Father's love.  He is inviting us into this depth of communion, which is a communion of love.  We may stop to think, in our modern context, that to follow the commandments of an authority figure, even a parent, doesn't necessarily translate into love.  We can, after all, receive abusive or wrong commandments in our lives, from those whose wills are unhealthy, unhealed, suffering, and all the ways in which our imperfect world expresses its imperfection.  But Christ is not speaking of worldly commandments and worldly authority; He is speaking and offering the opposite.  He's offering us the life of what is necessary for us, and that which is in so many ways missing in our world.  He is offering communion in and with the Source of all love, even as we are in a world distant and separate from that communion, with the "ruler of this world" an opponent to Christ.  He follows with, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."  He's offering us joy even when we have sorrow, even when we are disappointed and afraid, even abandoned by the people and things we are fond of in life.  For this joy remains in us when all else may fail.  For what Christ is offering is to abide in Him, and He in us, within the strength and Source of the Father's love, rooted in a place so deep within us we might not even know it's there.  This is the way Christ offers us love and communion, and all we have to do is love Him by following the commandments which are His words of life for us.  These commandments are for us, and they are the words of eternal life for us.  They are the words that share His love with us, and share with us His joy.  Let us take in all that we are offered, and take Him up on His offer, so that we may abide in His love, and joy may abide in us. 

 

 

 

If you love Me, keep My commandments

 

 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  

"A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.  These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.

 

"I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love  the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.  Arise, let us go from here."

 

- John 14:15–31 

 

In yesterday's lectionary reading, we were given the beginning of Christ's Farewell Discourse to the apostles, spoken at the Last Supper.  He said to them, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God; believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?"  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

 

  "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever  . . ."  My study Bible comments that the Helper (in Greek, παράκλητος/parakletos) refers to the Holy Spirit.  This title, it says, also means "Comforter," "Counselor," and "Advocate."  This term, in ancient Greek culture, signified one who came to help with legal matters, but expanded to include any form of support or encouragement.  In the context of the New Testament, it indicates the Holy Spirit, who acts as a divine helper and guide for believers.  

". . . the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."  The Spirit of truth is in each believer, my study Bible says, and we are called to know Him.  The Holy Spirit, it recalls, prays for us when we do not know how to pray, enabling us to pray in Christ's name (John 14:13-14; Romans 8:26) and giving us words of witness when we speak the gospel (Mark 13:11).

 

 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also."  According to my study Bible, the brief separation of Christ from His disciples at His death will lead to a deeper mystical union after the Resurrection, and to the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

 

"At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.  These things I have spoken to you while being present with you."   My study Bible comments that that day is a reference to Pentecost.  It cites St. John Chrysostom, who tells us that it is "the power of the Holy Spirit that taught them all things."

 

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."   Again, the emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit is given here, and more explicitly.  My study Bible comments that we have confidence in the apostles' doctrine (Acts 2:42) because the Holy Spirit is their Teacher; He brings to remembrance not only Christ's words, but also their meaning.  It says that we have confidence in the Church because the Holy Spirit is our Instructor as well from Pentecost until today, leading us into all truth (John 16:13).  There is a quotation cited from St. Irenaeus:  "Where the Church is, there is the Holy Spirit and the fullness of grace."

 

 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  Peace, according to my study Bible, was the customary Jewish word of both greeting and farewell.  Perfect peace is brought by Christ, who reconciles humanity to God (Ephesians 2:14).  Peace, it says, is part of the traditional greeting of Christians to one another (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3), and the greeting "Peace be to all" is offered many times during the liturgical services of the Church.

 

"You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe."   My Father is greater than I does not mean that the Father is greater in nature or essence than the Son; the Father and the Son share one divine nature.  Neither does it mean that the Son is created, for the Son is begotten from all eternity (John 1:1-5).  Instead, it means that the Father, who is the Fountainhead of the Trinity, is the eternal cause of the Son.  According to my study Bible, before it comes is a reference to Christ's coming Passion.  To tell of these events before they happened was a way to strengthen the disciples' faith. 

 

 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love  the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do."  The ruler of this world, my study Bible says, is the devil (see also John 12:31; 16:11), who dominates the realm of those who do not love Christ or keep His commandments.  Jesus has said the devil has nothing in Me because there can be no compromise between Christ or His followers and the devil.  Jesus became a human being, but was never stained with sin.

 

"Arise, let us go from here."  Jesus takes His disciples to another room or location to complete His discourse, so that He will gain their undivided attention.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, their current location was susceptible to intrusions, and the disciples were likely to be distracted from fear.

 

In today's reading, the disciple  Judas asks Jesus a question (not Iscariot, for that Judas is no longer present at the Last Supper in this setting).  The text tells us Judas says, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."  What are we to make of this?  How can this not be the greatest gift possible in life, in this world, and for all of us?  There is a great, tremendous promise here.  Imagine that the Father will love us, and both Christ and the Father will come to us and make Their home with us.  We also have to understand -- given the whole text of today's reading -- that this We in "We will come to him and make Our home with him" includes the Holy Spirit also.  How can we not imagine that kind of grace as the most wonderful and stupendous gift in the whole world, and that is better, in fact, than the whole world and what it can offer to us?  But there is a sort of catch, a premise here made for us in order to realize that promise.  Jesus says, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word."   We first need to love Him, and that means we will keep His word.  We think of grace as that which comes to us undeserved, even when we are unworthy.  And this is the truth about grace, for we can never "earn" what grace offers, as we're not capable of paying some sort of indeterminable price beyond anything we can understand.  We don't have anything we can possibly do to earn what is beyond this world.  But that doesn't mean there are no conditions implied here.  That doesn't mean that becoming a person capable of receiving that grace doesn't involve some sort of two-way street.  For that is, in fact, what love is.  It's a two-way street.  One could possibly venture to say that without this two-way street of love, there is no love at all.  There is just some sort of strange entitlement, a power relationship that doesn't work at all and is no longer about love.  Christ asks for our love here, and not only does He ask for our love, He tells us quite plainly that love isn't just a question of feeling something or believing something.  Love is a matter of doing something.  To love Christ is to keep His word.  What does that mean?  How can we keep Christ's word?  Is this a question of being perfect all the time?  No, it is a question of love, of being loyal out of love, of making every effort to live by what He has given us, to cherish this gift He has given of His word, which He clearly says comes from the Father in the first place.  Therefore we keep His word in love, and in turn He and the Father (and the Holy Spirit, for where One Person of the Trinity is present, all are present) will come and make Their home with us.  This is the simple, straightforward way God finds and makes a home in us:  we love God and keep the word Christ has given us.  This is covenant, it is union, it is a kind of marriage.  We are the Bride and He is the Bridegroom, only our Bridegroom does not come alone to make a home with us.  He brings more, and so much more.  How can we not accept such a gift?  Where are we going to find a better one?  Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."  This is what it means to keep His word.  Let us live that love He desires.

 

 

 

 

 

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also

 

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God; believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  

 

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?"  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

 

- John 14:1-14 

 

 On Thursday, we read what is called Christ's High Priestly Prayer, which He prayed at the Last Supper.  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.  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.  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."

 

  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God; believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."   The setting for the readings of this week is the Last Supper.  This is Christ's final discourse to His disciples. My study Bible comments that many mansions is a word-picture (a kind of parable) of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  "Mansions" also speaks of the multitude of blessings that await those who enter the Kingdom of God.  

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  My study Bible comments here that the way we reach the Father is forever established in the Person and work of the Son.  The Son is the truth because He is the unique revelation of the Father.  He is the One who became a human being so that we might have life; as He is our live, not even death can keep us from coming to Him.  My study Bible adds that only in Christ can one come to know the Father, for only in Christ is the way of all truth and all life found.  

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?"  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."  Here my study Bible explains Christ's remark ("He who has seen Me has seen the Father") as follows:  Our response to Christ determines our relationship with the Father.  If we reject Christ then we will never find the Father but if we believe in Christ and follow Him, then we ourselves will become "children of God," living eternally in the love of the Father (John 1:12).  While we are human beings are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26), Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son, is Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Christ does not say, "I am the Father" -- He is not.  Instead, what He declares is that He and the Father are one in essence and undivided in nature while being distinct Persons in the Godhead.

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."  To pray in God's name does not simply mean to attach the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers, my study Bible says.  Rather, to pray in God's name means to pray according to God's will.  Just as an emissary of a king can only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say, my study Bible explains, so also we can only be said to be praying in the name of Christ when we pray according to what He wants.  The purpose is not to get God to do our will, but for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10).  

 

How do we know what to pray for?  We know that in this world things are often unjust, and that life isn't fair.  There is a long, long history of theology in which the questions of evil in this world have been addressed, and will go on being addressed.   It is part of what we live with.  But sometimes, perhaps in our modern consumer society much more strongly than in the past, we might be tempted to think that prayer is a kind of practice in which we just ask what we want.  This can, of course, extend from the mundane to the most deeply personal and important matters in our lives.  But it is a deep effort to learn that oftentimes we don't get exactly what we want, what is "right," or "fair," or even what we think we need.  In circumstances we can't control, we know that all things are in God's hands.  And yet, there remains an evil in the world, abuses, hardship, illness, and death.  Some friends right now are deeply struggling with a tragic illness of their son.  So many are praying for them, for him, and such strong faith is always present within the efforts of his parents.  But, just like some of the tragic stories we read in the Gospels, nonetheless his life stands in danger from this illness (like Lazarus or Jairus' daughter), but we don't all have Christ in the flesh to call upon to give us a miracle or miraculous sign.  I have seen and experienced my share of the miraculous connected with prayer, but this hard circumstance of this tragically ill child is far from certain.  What I have seen from prayer in my own life, however, is a promise of Resurrection that is always present, a gift from Christ on the Cross that must be unforgettable for all of us.  And that is that our suffering is transfigured through God's grace.  Even when we might not get the outcome we want, there is always a glimmer, a light, that shines in the darkness, and this much, I am certain is true.  Through my mother's long illness I learned prayer, even when alone and feeling abandoned, and how it gave me strength, and resources, that I didn't know I could have to continue on one more day, to find the right thing to do, to do what I had to do and care for her the best I could.  These are the blessings of the light that shines in the darkness, regardless of the outcome.  The tremendous love and strength, the resources, and shared community created out of this one family's struggle and their hurting child has been extraordinary to see and to watch, their love a tremendous blessing.  But in their sadness and difficulty, and potential devastating loss, that might be impossible to see.  God's love is there, no matter what the outcome, and this is our light we can share with one another at all times, although none of us knows our outcome.  But this love we know is God's will.  It's important to know that just prior to the words we read in today's Gospel passage, Jesus has said to the disciples (minus Judas), "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).  Perhaps it is in sharing that love that we do the greatest work of God we can do.  

 

 

 

 

 

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 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.

 

"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.  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 17:1–11 (12–26) 

 

In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus said (as He taught in the temple in Jerusalem, following His Triumphal Entry), "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die. The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

 

 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."  Chapter 17 of John's Gospel consists of what is frequently called the High Priestly Prayer.  My study Bible explains that this is because it contains the basic elements of prayer a priest offers to God when a sacrifice is about to be made.  These elements include glorification (John 17:3-5, 25), remembrance of God's works (John 17:2, 6-8, 22-23), intercession on behalf of others (John 17: 9, 11, 15, 20-21, 24), and a declaration of the offering itself (John 17:1, 5).  The hour has come, my study Bible tells us, signifies that Christ is Lord over time.   He chose the proper time in accordance with the will of the Father.  Glorify refers 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, my study Bible continues, the Father and the Son are glorified.  It's for this reason that the Cross, which is a sign of death, is glorified in the Church as "life-giving" and 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.  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."  My study Bible comments that the knowledge of the only true God is far more than intellectual understanding.  It is participation in Christ's divine life and in communion with Him.  So, therefore, eternal life is an ongoing, loving knowledge of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit.  It's important to note that Christ's work can never be separated from who He is.  My study Bible says that particular verse is a statement that each believer can make at the end of life -- no matter how long or short one's 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."  Jesus speaks of the apostles ("the men whom You have given Me").  They are the ones through whom God's word comes to us, my study Bible says.  This handing down of God's word to successive generations is called apostolic tradition.  My study Bible explains that Isaiah prophesied that in the days of the Messiah, the knowledge of the Name of God would be revealed (Isaiah 52:6).  Christ speaks to the Father of Your name.  My study Bible notes that in the Old Testament times, the phrase "the Name" was reverently used as a substitute for God's actual Name "Yahweh," which was too sacred to pronounce.  The fuller revelation of the Name was given to those who believe in Christ, as Christ manifested the Name not only by declaring the Father, but by being the very presence of God and sharing the Name with Him (John 14:9). 

 

"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."  We note in the structure of this prayer, Jesus first prayed for Himself, and next for them, the apostles.  Only after that He prays for those whom You have given Me.  My study Bible explains that these are all those who would come to believe in Him (John 17:20-26).  When Christ speaks of being in the world, "the world" is the portion of humanity in rebellion against God, those who prefer darkness to God's light (John 1:4-5; 3:19-21).  Holy Father, my study Bible points out, is echoed in the eucharistic prayer of Didache 10:2 (from the earliest teaching document known in the Church):  "We give you thanks, Holy Father, for Your holy name which You have made to dwell in our hearts.

 

 "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."  My study Bible explains that the son of perdition (or "destruction") is Judas Iscariot (John 6:70-71).  Old Testament prophecy alludes to Judas (Psalm 41:9, 109:2-13; Zechariah 11:12-13), and Judas becomes a type for all who will fall away in the last days (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3), where "son of perdition" is a reference to the Antichrist).  

"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."  As Christ is from heaven, so those who are joined to Him become like Christ.  So, therefore, all believers attract the world's hatred.  My study Bible refers to the second-century Letter to Diognetus (6:3) states, "Christians dwell in the world but do not belong to the world."   If we are reborn in Christ, then Christians have their citizenship in the Kingdom of God (John 3:1-5), yet our vocation is in the world, where we are protected by God against the evil one.

 

"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."  To sanctify, according to my study Bible, is to consecrate, make holy, separate, set apart from the world, and bring into the sphere of the sacred for God's use.  It quotes from St. John Chrysostom's interpretation of this verse:  "Make them holy through the gift of the Spirit and by correct doctrine."

 

 "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."   Jesus speaks of those who will believe.  My study Bible remarks that the Church in every generation participates in the life and glory of the Trinity.  Christians, it says, enjoy two kinds of unity:  with God and with one another, where the latter is rooted in the former.  The ultimate goal of Christ's prayer, and even of life itself, my study Bible notes, is for the love of the Father to dwell in each person.  

Jesus says, "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do."  As my study Bible pointed out, we each who follow Christ also have our own work to do.  In John's 6th chapter, the people ask Jesus, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  He tells them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent" (John 6:27-29).  Living out our faith is our work in the world, becomes our life's work in Jesus' perspective.  Just as He lived and worked by seeking the Father's will and doing it, so our own model for the work of our lives is Christ, and we are to fashion ourselves on Him.  It is faith which defines, drives, carves out (so to speak) our work for us in life -- and indeed, this is our life.  With deepening faith, it becomes our life.  Like Jesus, when the work that God gives us to do through our faith is finished, our lives have come to an end as well -- and this is the place where Jesus has come in His life and His ministry.  God has but one "work" left for Him to do, and that is coming before Him as the Cross.  In John's 17th chapter, Jesus prays one last time before He will go to the Garden of Gethsemane to be taken prisoner, and made to be on His way to trial and execution.  In the structure of the Gospel, He has just finished His farewell discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper (these will be part of our lectionary readings after Easter).  This concept of work that Jesus presents here is very important to us, and essential that we understand.  For in this prayer that He prays for Himself, and then for the disciples, and then for all the faithful who will follow, He also prays for our "work" that follows Him, and in His footsteps and teachings He gave to the disciples.  Jesus prays to the Father, "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves."  He asks that all believers be kept in the Father's name, and in Christ's name.  In the sense in which Jesus uses the word "name" here, He's indicating God's presence and God's person.  It is linked closely with God's glory, for both name and glory speak of the presence of an authority similar to a king or official.  These include renown and reputation, but also the fullness of power of the person and the person's office and authority.  It is all of this in which Christ prays that we, His followers and faithful, be kept even as we are in this world.  Perhaps the most profound words of Christ come at the end of this prayer, in which He indicates that to be kept in God's name not only entails the fulfillment of our joy and work in life, but of a participation in God's glory, and most of all in God's love.  He prays that we may come to know God's love as He has, and that we remain in that love even as we live our lives.  It is in God's love that we count on the protection from the evil one.  Our sanctification, to be set apart for the work God gives us to do, is the truth that Christ has given us, that the Spirit of truth will be sent to give us so that we might recall and know the things He has taught and which He gives us (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).  But He concludes with the great fullness of God for us, God's love, for this is the deepest and surest protection that we are kept in God's name.  Jesus' conclusion is the great testimony that love and its profound importance for us as we walk in our lives in this world, for every "work" we may do, is linked to God's love: "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."