You are the light of the world

 

 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  

 

 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 

- Matthew 5:11-16 

 

At this relatively early stage in Christ's ministry, St. Matthew reports that His fame has already gathered to Him many multitudes, especially due to His miraculous healings (which include the casting out of demons).  Yesterday we read that, seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."   This beginning of the Sermon on the Mount gives us Jesus' Beatitudes, and we continue today.

 

  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  My study Bible comments that those who suffer persecution for Christ walk the road of the prophets, saints, and martyrs.  It explains that the Greek for be exceedingly glad means literally to "leap exceedingly with joy."  See also Acts 5:40-41.

 

  "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  My study Bible says that salt and light give us a picture of the role of disciples in society.  Salt has preservative powers, is necessary for life, and gives flavor; from these qualities it had religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty, covenant.  As the salt of the earth, my study Bible says, Christians are preservers of God's covenant and give true flavor to the world.  Also, we know that God is the true and uncreated Light.  In the Old Testament, light is symbolic of God (Isaiah 60:1-3), of the divine Law (Psalm 119:105), and Israel in contrast to all other nations.  In the New Testament, the Son of God is called "light" (John 1:4-9, 8:12; 1 John 1:5).  My study Bible comments that light is necessary both for clear vision and for life itself.  Faith relies upon this divine light, and believers become "sons of light" (John 12:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:5) who shine in a perverse world (Philippians 2:15).  In many Orthodox parishes, the Pascha (Easter) Liturgy begins with a candle being presented and the invitation to "come receive the Light which is never overtaken by night."

 

Salt and light are given as two images of what Christians are to be in their societies, and in the world.  Salt, as my study Bible explains, means covenant.  It means loyalty.  It is a binding agent, a fixative, and hence it had great significance in the ancient world, besides being a necessity for life, and a preservative for food. But Jesus also speaks of salt in terms of flavor.  How we live our faith matters, the nature of our covenant and loyalty, our capacity to adhere to faith is crucial.  It gives a particular enhancement of flavor to the world, and in Jesus' illustration, makes all the difference.  It brings something essential to the table, so to speak, within the societies which Christians inhabit.  He speaks of the faithful as the salt of the earth (meaning our planet, the globe), implying an element that is worth the effort to dig for, to value, and to consider an important part of the composition of our world and the life of the Creation.  (See this article on Halite, natural rock salt.)  At the same time, He speaks of believers as the light of the world.  This word translated as world is κοσμος/kosmos in the Greek, and it means all of Creation, the universe and everything in it.  It comes from a root in Greek that means adornment, decoration, God's beautiful order.  It's related to the concept of a jewel or jewelry, so we can imagine what light is to a jewel in this context.  If God's beautiful order and creation needs light, then faith and faithful believers are that light.  As my study Bible teaches, we know that Christ is the original "uncreated" Light, but Jesus is speaking of light that illumines all of the creation.  In this context, the faithful are a light that illumines what God has made.  So the effects of faithful living by Christ's gospel make the world more clear to us, show us where we are and what the world is truly like, illuminating the facets of a jewel created by God.  Light is indispensable for us to find our way, and in this context, forms an illumination that guides the way for all, no doubt rooted in the spiritual fruits that Jesus says cast glory upon God.  If we take a good look at the fruit of the Spirit as named by St. Paul, we can correlate such virtues with all of the qualities that Christ names in the Beatitudes in yesterday's reading, above (see Galatians 5:22-23 for the fruit of the Spirit).  Such things form the light that shines in the world before all people, that illumines and glorifies God, as we reflect the light given to us in our faith.  In this light, we are able to see the purposes for which we've been blessed with God's creation, hold it in right relationship, and even to bless the world with its illumination, showing what is possible in the light of Christ.  Let us remember our loyalty and our light -- where it comes from and to whom we are dedicated, for "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).  In the following chapter, as Jesus continues this sermon, He will give us the prayer known as the Lord's Prayer, or the "Our Father."  Here, in today's reading, He is teaching us what it means to be the salt and light of "our Father" in this world, and to reflect God's glory back to Him.  This is what it means to be His faithful disciples, to live the gospel message He gives us in this sermon.  Let us be true to His teaching, and remember how important and essential we as faithful are to the world in His sight.  

 

 

 

 

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one

 

 "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."

 

- John 17:9–19 

 

Yesterday we began reading what is known as Christ's High Priestly Prayer, which He prayed at the termination of the Last Supper, just prior to going to His arrest.  He 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."  My study Bible points out that Christ first prayed for Himself (verses 1-5), and second for them, the apostles (verses 6-19).   Only then He begins to pray for those whom You have given Me -- that is, all those who will come to believe in Him (verses 20-26).  Here the world is the way that He references the portion of humanity in rebellion against God; that is, in the words of my study Bible, those who prefer darkness to His light (John 3:19).  

 

 "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. "  My study Bible notes that Holy Father is echoed in the eucharistic prayer of Didache 10:2, which reads, "We give you thanks, Holy Father, for Your holy name which You have made to dwell in our hearts."   The Didache is the earliest known Christian teaching document, said to be the teaching of the apostles.  

 

"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."  The son of perdition (perdition meaning "destruction") is Judas Iscariot (John 6:70-71).  Old Testament prophecy also alludes to Judas (Psalm 41:9, 109:2-13; Zechariah 11:12-13), and Judas become a type for all who will fall away in the last days.  See 2 Thessalonians 2:3, in which "son of perdition" refers 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."  My study Bible notes that, inasmuch as Christ is from heaven, so those who are joined to Him become like Him.  So, therefore, all believers attract the world's hatred.  The Letter to Diognetus (6:3), written in the second century, states, "Christians dwell in the world but do not belong to the world."  My study Bible comments that, reborn in Christ, Christians have their citizenship in the Kingdom of God (John 3:1-5), but their vocation is in the world, where they 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 is to consecrate, to make holy.  It also means to make separate and set apart from the world, and bring into the sphere of the sacred for God's use.  My study Bible quotes St. John Chrysostom's interpretation of Christ's words here:  "Make them holy through the gift of the Spirit and by correct doctrine."

 

Jesus prays to the Father regarding His apostles, "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."   Perhaps a century later, in the Letter to Diognetus (cited by my study Bible; see above), a faithful Christian explains to a pagan of the time, "In a word, what the soul is in a body, this the Christians are in the world. The soul is spread through all the members of the body, and Christians through the diverse cities of the world. The soul hath its abode in the body, and yet it is not of the body. So Christians have their abode in the world, and yet they are not of the world.  The soul which is invisible is guarded in the body which is visible: so Christians are recognized as being in the world, and yet their religion remains invisible."  We Christians remain in this "body" as explained by the letter-writer, whom we now do not know.  But it is St. Paul who writes of the great communion of the saints, which helps us to further understand this "body" that truly makes up the Church.  In chapter 11 of the Letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul cites faithful believers from the Old Testament.  He enters this subject with these words that speak of things visible and invisible, "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible" (Hebrews 11:3), and the rest of the chapter names many examples of the faithful.  In chapter 12 he concludes, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).  St. Paul's "great cloud of witnesses" remains the body of the Church, as referenced by the writer of the letter to Diognetus.  So we still form this body in the world, but not of it.  This is the body of those who continue in faith to the word given to Christ, and passed on to us through the apostles and their successors.  But how many of us today understand this "invisible" nature of the body of Christ, even as we remain very much in the world through the design of our Lord, as He indicates in His prayer?  Do we still have our important sense of being in the world, but not of it?  That we are a part of an invisible Kingdom, which doesn't work in the same ways the world does?  This understanding, so essential to Christ as evident in His prayer, and to the early Church in accordance with the history and documents we know, remains something intrinsic to our faith.  For we must remember Christ's words in prayer to the Father, He does not ask that His faithful followers be taken out of the world, but that God the Father keep them from the evil one.  Do we still have a sense of our difference from "the world?"  Do we understand our need to be kept "from the evil one?"  Let us ponder Christ's words, for these remain an essential part of who we are and what we step into when we enter into His faith, and seek to grow in His kingdom.  This perspective doesn't limit us, but it is the light by which we see and find our way in the world, His way.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth

 

 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.  They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think he offers God service.  And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.  But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.  And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.  But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.  

 

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."

 

- John 16:1-15 

 

 In our current readings, Jesus is giving what is called the Farewell Discourse to the apostles.  The setting is the Last Supper, before Jesus goes to His arrest leading to the Cross, His death, and then to Resurrection.  This readings and commentary on this Discourse began on Monday.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught the apostles, "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another.  If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.'  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'  But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds  from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

 

  "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.  They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think he offers God service.  And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.  But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.  And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.  But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart."  My study Bible defines the use of sorrow here to mean "extreme grief leading to despondency or despair," which it names a sinful passion.  St. John Chrysostom is quoted:  "Great is the tyranny of despondency."  This sin, moreover, is constantly referred to in the writings of the Desert Fathers.  When the world persecutes the believer or when God seems to be absent, my study Bible notes, Christians are called to fight against this despondency, taking comfort from the presence of the Holy Spirit.  

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now."  Of course, the Helper is the Holy Spirit.  The word translated as "Helper" from the Greek was used in ancient times for a legal aid, a lawyer; it was extended to mean also "Comforter," "Counselor," and "Advocate."  It literally indicates one who comes (by one's side) when called.  My study Bible comments on this passage that through the illumination brought by the Holy Spirit, the world will be convicted; that is, proven wrong.  It will be convicted concerning first, its sin, the ultimate of which is the denial of Christ.  Second, righteousness, which it failed to accept from Christ with faith and thanksgiving; and finally judgment, for those who reject Christ will receive the same penalty that Satan, the ruler of this world, has already received (see Matthew 25:41).  

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."  My study Bible tells us that because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and because this Spirit abides in the Church, the Church is the guardian of all truth.  

It seems important to remember, when considering Christ's words about judgment, that the Holy Spirit (the Helper, the Spirit of truth) is at work in our world all the time.  When Christ speaks about the Spirit doing the work of judgment and conviction, we should remember that, first of all, Christ is the Knower of all hearts (that is, He knows the depths of our hearts we might not even know), and second, the Holy Spirit will give help and opportunity to all regarding response to the spiritual truth it offers, in ways that none of us can know about anyone else.  This extends to ourselves as well, in terms of our own awareness of just what we are being presented with in our choices all the time.  So when we read Christ's words (and my study Bible's understanding) we can be certain that God presents us with opportunities all the time in terms of our response to this truth, to the work of the Holy Spirit in us and around us, which is always ongoing.  God's judgment is not like our judgment, and only God knows the true depths of who we are to make that judgment, so this is effectually, a great mystery to us all on our human, worldly level, and is something belonging only to God in terms of prerogative.  We cannot be the Judge, but what we can do is accept Christ's words and His commands, especially the commands to love one another which have gained so much importance in this final Farewell Discourse to Christ's apostles.  We can rely on and trust in the Spirit of truth to be present to us and with us at all times, an Advocate, a Helper, a Counselor, One who offers us the closeness of one closer to our hearts than we know, and who always has our best interest in mind.  Jesus also speaks at the same time of persecutions that are coming; emphatically, He tells them even in this vivid language that "the time is coming that whoever kills you will think he offers God service."  This is a picture of the spirit of the Antichrist at work in the world, so that we understand this complex life in which we live, and the great and courageous mission into which the apostles were about to engage.  These conditions remain with us, and come in new and myriad forms, but our basic struggle is the same.  We trust in Christ (this is what it means to have faith), we follow His commands, and above all, we are to do so as our love for Him.  As Christ has said, He receives love from the Father, and shares that love with the disciples, and with us.  This love, as He has said repeatedly in this Discourse, is that with which He abides in us, and we abide in Him, so that our joy and peace may be a part of us all the time, no matter what is presented to us in the world, if we remain His disciples.  Let us rely upon this Spirit of truth, our Comforter and our Helper, to find our way through, even in a world that is hostile.  The Holy Spirit, Spirit of truth will bring to remembrance all the things Christ has taught, taking of what is Christ's to declare to us from the Father, giving us the capacity to witness to Him in the world.   

 

 

Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You

 

 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."

 

- John 17:1–8 

 

 In yesterday's reading, we were given Christ's parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

  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."  As the lectionary continues to prepare us for the Lenten journey (which begins this week in the West, and for the Armenian Apostolic Church), today we're given the beginning of what is termed Christ's High Priestly Prayer (John 17).   In it, He prays for Himself, after He has addressed His disciples at the Last Supper (John 14 - 16).   This prayer contains the basic elements of a prayer which a priest would offer to God when a sacrifice is about to me made.  As my study Bible explains it, these elements comprise glorification (verses 3-5, 25), remembrance of God's words (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).  Here His words bear witness to Christ's divinity, and His filial relationship with the Father.  My study Bible comments on Christ's words here that the hour has come signifies Christ is Lord over time.  To glorify refers to the redemption of all creation that will be accomplished through this voluntary mission of the Cross and Resurrection; in fact, the purpose for which He was sent into the world by the Father.  In this redemption, my study bible adds, 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" 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."  The knowledge of the only true God is far more than intellectual understanding, my study Bible comments here.  This knowledge is, in fact, participation in God's divine life and in communion with God.  So, therefore, eternal life is an ongoing, 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."  My study Bible says that Christ's work can never be separated from His identity.  This verse, it notes, is a statement which each believer can make at the end of life, regardless of 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."  Here Jesus prays for the men whom You have given Me out of the world.  These are the apostles.  My study Bible explains that these are the ones through whom God's word comes to us.   This handing down of God's word to successive generations is what is called apostolic tradition.  My study Bible says that 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 Scriptures, the phrase "the Name" was reverently used as a substitute for the name of God "Yahweh" (after the Hebrew letters which represent the name given to Moses in Exodus 3:14), because the Name was considered too sacred to pronounce.  The  fuller revelation of the Name, my study Bible explains, was given to those who believe in Christ, for Christ manifested the Name not simply by declaring the Father, but by being the very presence of God and sharing the Name with God.

If we take a close look at the overall theme of these verses of Christ' High Priestly Prayer, we see that it is all connected within the understanding of the fullness and completion of His mission into the world.  It is therefore inseparable from the Father and the aims of the Father.  Additionally, it also encompasses not simply the relationship between the divine Persons of Father, Son, and Spirit but also includes believers, "the men whom You have given Me out of the world."  Actually in the Greek, this is possibly more literally translated as "those whom You have given Me out of the world."  Therefore, this is about Christ's faithful believers.  Certainly it was most relevant to those at the Last Supper, but Christ's prays for all whom the Father has given to Him, and this is a process which is still ongoing.  So both the fullness of Christ's manifestation, and glorification encompasses all the communion of saints, the fullness of the Church even including in its ultimate sense, and the divine Persons of the Trinity.  In this way, all is inseparable from Christ's mission, which Jesus now goes forward to complete in the Cross and the Resurrection.   This beginning of Christ's High Priestly Prayer invites us to consider what "glory" means, and how this glory is interconnected to Christ's manifestation of the fullness of the Father, which also includes in time and in eternity the fullness of the Church.  But this kind of glory is completely different from worldly notions of personal glory.  If we can get an idea of what this type of glory is truly like, we will come to understand also what it means when we read in the Gospels the notion of the fulfillment or completion of joy.  At the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11), and He compares their imminent suffering to that of a woman in labor, who rejoices once her child is born (John 16:20-22).  This understanding of joy is linked to Christ's glorification, because both are bound up in the fulfillment of Christ's mission, in the fulfillment of the will of the Father, and each of our roles in that fulfillment.  It is the same with John the Baptist, when he declares, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled" (John 3:29).  This fulfillment of joy is one that is found not simply as an individual, or in a self-centered way, but one that comes in the completion of communion, a joy found in the sharing of the life in Christ, and the fullness of mission in this sense.  If we, also, are to find this fulfillment of joy, then we look to Christ's understanding of glory, and how it is found in the life that God prepares and asks us to fulfill in our own faithful living, through the light that Christ gives us for this path in each of our lives.  Joy becomes a part of the glory of God in which we might share and play our own roles, an expansion of the heart that cannot be contained in selfish and limited versions of worldly glory or renown.  Let us consider this integral, expanded, deep understanding of joy, and how it is connection to the ways we find ourselves in Christ, to the life of faith we're offered.  For the joy in our hearts comes from the fire of love (Luke 24:32), which which begins with God who is love and which Christ has manifest to us so that we also may participate in this life, and in His joy.

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.

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son

 

 "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 to 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 Saturday, we read that  Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake.  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."

 

  "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 explains the phrase many mansions as a word-picture of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  "Mansions" also speak 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."  Jesus says He is the way, the truth, and the life.  My study Bible says 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.  Christ is the life who became Man so we might have life, and as Christ is our life, then not even death can hinder us from coming to Him.  Only in Christ can one come to know the Father, for only in Christ is the way of all truth and 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'?"  Jesus says, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."  My study Bible comments that therefore this indicates that it is our response to Christ that 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 God the Father (see 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 to the works themselves."  My study Bible explains that while human beings are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26), the Incarnate Son is Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Christ did not say, "I am the Father," for He is not.  Rather, He declares 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."  The greater works, my study Bible tells us, are an indication that Christ's working through mere human beings after Pentecost is greater than His performing signs and wonders directly.  These works, attested to in the Book of Acts, include spreading the gospel through 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."  To pray in Christ's name, my study Bible says, does not simply mean to attach the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers.  It says that rather, to pray in His name

means to pray according to His will.  It gives the example of an emissary of a king, who can only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say.  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, but for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus says, "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."  I am intrigued by my study Bible's explanation of what it means to "ask in My name."  In Wednesday's reading, we read that Jesus prayed to the Father, "Father, glorify Your name."  My study Bible explained at that passage that the Father's name is an extension of Himself.  So it is also with Christ's name.  As the name is an extension of His Person, and all that this would indicate, to pray in Christ's name, as my study Bible explains, means to pray according to His will.  Note also that the example my study Bible gives in today's reading is of an emissary representing a king.  It would be the same with a representative of, say, the President of the United States, or one of any other leader of a country.   If a person used such a position to act with the leader's authority (and thereby the authority of the government and the people) following only his or her own will, and not the will of the leader, then we would call that corruption, exploitation, selfishness.  So it is also with prayer, if we understand this example correctly.  Therefore, when Christ explains to the disciples that He is "the way, the truth, and the life," what He is saying is that through discipleship to Him, to seeking His way, the truth He can give us, and the life He can give us, we also pray in His name, we ask for what is truly spiritually profitable and right for us.   The word for Christ's way, in the Greek (ὁδὸς/odos), means "road" or "path."  (It is used to mean "road" in modern Greek.)  It may also mean "journey."  So, this "way" indicates a span of time, a length of road to travel, a way not simply to do things, but to walk through life.  It is His path that guides our footsteps, and a path leads somewhere; deviating from that path does not lead to the Father, and it does not give the truth nor the life that Christ offers.  What this means is that we seek to walk a road in life following His commandments, learning from His teachings and living by them, and we pray in His name that we may deepen our pathway and commitment, and also to find His will for us, the place He wants us to go.  We may set all kinds of goals in life.  We are constantly distracted with "shoulds" and "musts" -- things we must have and goals we must achieve, the great things society offers us to consume, or the patterns that will make us applauded by others, or great in the eyes of the world.  We may seek approval from our families for all kinds of achievements.  But to pray in Christ's name asks us for a dedication and a purpose that sets everything else aside in putting His name, His kingdom, first, finding His way first.  It is entirely possible that Christ's way or road will lead us to all of those things that seem so desirable and good.  But the road also includes the humility to find His way, and to change our "way" if necessary.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).  In the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul says, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26).  So the One who will be sent after Christ is glorified, the "Helper" who helps us to find Christ's way, and truth, and life, will also help us to know what to "pray for as we ought."  As we move forward in this week's readings, of Jesus' final address to His followers at the Last Supper, let us consider this deeply, for He will also tell of the Helper to come.

 

 

 

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

 

 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."

 

- John 17:1-8 

 

In preparing us for Lent, the lectionary yesterday gave us the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector:   Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

 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."  Our reading today begins what is often called the High Priestly Prayer.   The lectionary cycle gives us this prayer in its entirety over the next three days, as we read chapter 17 of John's Gospel.  This is Christ's prayer before the time of betrayal, when He knows He will be seized and eventually crucified.  It is called the High Priestly Prayer because it contains the basic elements of prayer that a priest offers to God when a sacrifice is about to be made, my study Bible explains:  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 first section of this prayer (verses 1-13), Christ's words bear witness to His divinity and His filial relationship with the Father.  The hour has come signifies that Christ is Lord over time, my study Bible says.  It cites the words of an Orthodox hymn:  "He voluntarily willed to ascend the Cross in the flesh."  Glorify 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.  It is in this redemption that the Father and Son are glorified.  Hence, the Cross, a sign of death in this most gruesome form of crucifixion, 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."  My study Bible comments that the knowledge of the only true God is far more than intellectual understanding.  It is participation in God's divine life and in communion with God.  Therefore, my study Bible explains, eternal life is an ongoing, 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 is not separate from who He is.   My study Bible says that Jesus' statement, "I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do," is one which each believer can make at the end of life, no matter how long or short one's life might 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.  My study Bible reminds us that they are the ones through whom God's word comes to us.  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 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.  

I'm reading an interesting book (The Religion of the Apostles) in which the use of the Name in Old Testament Scriptures is gone into with some detail.  Essentially, it says, we can think of this title for God as being used to indicate a Person, but one that is distinct from the first and second hypostases (or Persons; that is, those whom we call the Father and the Son) in the Godhead.  The Name is associated with the Third Person, the Holy Spirit.  For example, we read that the Angel of the Lord was given by God to Moses, and Moses taught that any rebellion against the Angel would not be forgiven, as Yahweh's Name was placed in the Angel.  "Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him" (Exodus 23:20-21).  This sounds very similar to Christ's teaching that all manner of sin may be forgiven, but He explicitly puts into a different category blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31).  Of course, as Christians we hasten to add that the sin that remains unforgiven is the one that is not repented.  But for the consideration of today's passage, let us think about what it means for us that Christ says He has manifested God's name to His apostles, the ones whom the Father Himself has given to Christ out of the world.  Especially in the ancient world, a name was a powerful representation of a person; indeed, when we speak of kings or emperors, or anyone using a personal seal, a name conferred the presence of the person (and therefore the stamp made something the property and extension of that person).  Therefore, for Christ to manifest God's Name is for Him to present to the world the presence of God, but also this Name is manifest through the words which God gave to Christ, and upon those who keep those words.  The Name functions, in this sense, in the way the Holy Spirit works; at once God and also the extension of God's action into the world.  Therefore this Name, as it was planted in the Angel given for guidance to Moses, may also, through Christ, be implanted in us.  And there we come to Lent, which is essentially a time for the renewal of our Baptism.  In his first Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul asks, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" and, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19).  So when we consider the traditional practices of Lent, with its focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, what we see is a sense in which those practices help us to come to a clearer reception of that Name that is planted within us at our Baptism, and deeper manifestation of that Name through living our faithfulness.  Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving -- as well as special worship services during Lent -- are forms of self-emptying, self-giving.  What we do is to make an attempt to get our own egos out of the way, so to speak, and make more room for God.  Like David's penitential Psalm 51, which works as an archetypal form of confession for all of us, we are effectively asking of God, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit."  Let us also be good bearers of His Name into the world, by keeping the word which Christ has given us, and keeping or restoring clean hearts at this time of Lent, so that our spirits are renewed and upheld in the joy of God's salvation.

 

 

 

 

I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours

 

 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 the 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 

 

We have currently been reading through Jesus' Farewell Discourse, given to the disciples at the Last Supper, and following as they moved to another location.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus said to 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 into 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.  Ask, 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 have will 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 the authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him."   Verses 1-26 of chapter 17 of John's Gospel make up a prayer, frequently called the High Priestly Prayer of Christ, as it contains the basic elements of prayer which a priest offers to God when a sacrifice is about to be made.  These things consist of glorification, to which Christ refers in verses 3-5, 25, remembrance of God's works (verses 9, 11, 15, 20, 21, 24), and a declaration of the offering itself (verses 1, 5).   My study bible explains that the hour has come signifies that Christ is Lord over time, establishing His voluntary acceptance of the Cross.  It says that glorify refers to the redemption of all creation that will be accomplished through the Cross and Resurrection.  This is the purpose for which Christ as sent into the world.  In this redemption, both Father and Son are glorified.  It adds that this is why the Cross, 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."  Here my study bible comments that the knowledge of the only true God is far more than intellectual understanding.  Rather, it includes participation in God's divine life and in communion with God.  Therefore, eternal life is an ongoing, 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."  My study bible explains that Christ's work cannot ever be separated from who He is.  Thus, this statement regarding the work which You have given Me to do is a one each believer can make at the end of life, no matter how long or short one's life might 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 refers to the apostles when He speaks of the men whom You have given Me.  The apostles are the ones through whom God's word comes to us, my study bible reminds us.  This handing down of God's word to successive generations is called apostolic tradition.  My study bible tells us that Isaiah prophesied that in the days of the Messiah, the knowledge of the Name of God would be revealed (Isaiah 52:6).  Jesus declares, "I have manifested Your name . . .."  In the Old Testament times, the phrase "the Name" was a reverent substitution for God's Divine Name "Yahweh," considered too sacred to pronounce.  This fuller revelation of the Name is given to those who believe in Christ, for Christ manifested the Name not simply by declaring the Father, but by being the very presence of God and 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.  Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You."  My study bible notes here that Christ first prayed for Himself (in verses 1-5), and secondly for them, the apostles (verses 6-19).  Only then He prays for those whom You have given Me -- that is, all who will come to believe in Him (verses 20-26).  Here, the world is the portion of humanity in rebellion against God, those who prefer darkness to God's light.  

 

"Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are."  In the Didache, there is a eucharistic prayer (Didache 10:2), which echoes Christ's words:  "We give you thanks, Holy Father, for Your holy name which You have made to dwell in our hearts."

Jesus prays to the Holy Father, "I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours."    My study bible tells us that in this instance, Jesus refers to the world as those who are in rebellion against God; specifically, those who prefer darkness to God's light.  This is in keeping with the understanding of the terminology of royal names and houses, in the sense that the devil has been referred to (also in John's Gospel) as "the ruler of this world."  Please see John 12:31, 14:30, 16:10-11.  This might seem a bit disconcerting and confusing, as we also are to understand that Christ goes to the Cross for the redemption of the world, even for His enemies.  When He gave His new commandment, "Love one another as I have loved you," this is the way we are to understand it, the measure of Christ's love, that He would die even for His enemies.  How is this possible for us to reconcile?  Is there a contradiction here, in that Jesus would pray for His own -- and those to come who will believe in Him -- but not for "the world" that is in rebellion against Him and the Father?  This is something important for us to discern.  It's important to note the different senses of time that are inherent in Christ's teachings.  Earlier He has taught that the Holy Spirit will be sent from the Father after Christ's Ascension, and that the Holy Spirit will "convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8).  But let us note that this work of the Holy Spirit is such that it spans the age which Christ has initiated, the whole of what might rightly be called the "end times," which has progressed for some two millenia.  We are not to understand this conviction as something we explicitly know in some worldly sense, or something we -- as creatures, human beings -- can put a time limit on or fully comprehend.  God's judgment is God's judgment, and the heart has depths that only God knows:  whether sinful or righteous.  Secondly, Christ also came to redeem, to forgive sins through grace, and that is also something we cannot fully understand from our human perspective, as creatures rather than Creator.  Do we know the depths of the heart, or how a person might come to repentance, how their lives are going to evolve?  We can say none of these things.  So, it is in the fullness of this understanding that Christ can say that He does not pray to the Father for the world, but rather prays for His own.  For He goes to the Cross in order to save all -- to offer the hand of salvation to all.  But as creatures, our own work in cooperation in God requires of us one thing:  to give our assent, to accept God's work in us.  The work of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, in us seems to me to work at such a depth that we are not necessarily entirely conscious of it, but yet there is an assent within us, a consent to the love of God, and a mutual return of that love.  And at least from the perspective of the Lord in the Gospels, nevertheless, although at such a depth as to be even something of which we are not entirely aware until it comes to us as conviction -- and, of course, experience in this may vary -- this is accounted to us as acceptance, our "yes" of belief.  It is so linked to loyalty and love as to be -- in my experience and estimation at least -- inseparable.  It is the same as the love we feel for others which we can't necessarily explain away from merely the rational mind or intellectual choice:  all we know is that we love, even at a depth we can't necessarily name.  Yet this still accounts to us as assent, as choice.  It's just that the choosing happens within a depth of the self, and we are so used to living on the surface of life, even on the "surface" of what really constitutes the fullness of ourselves.  There is also a sense of time passing in terms of repentance, coming to love and embrace God, in the sense in which we can't rightfully know all the steps necessary in repentance to get from point A to point B.  So often repentance is a complex set of steps, of psychological change, and of gradual transformation.  This is something we cannot predict nor map out, as it takes a divine perspective to fathom and understand.  We are capable of discerning this movement only in hindsight, and possibly only for ourselves or from another who has experienced such depth of change.  So let us consider Christ's love, given to all, but specified as returned by some, by those who will love and welcome the light, and resisted by those who prefer the darkness.  And this is our world in which we live, and we are given that light to share in, in which to participate, and to reflect and shine into the darkness, as did He.  We don't know what effects that will have.  We can only seek to know the work that Christ gives us to do (John 6:28-29).  It is for this He gives us His commands to follow Him.