John 17:1-11
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom 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 glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
Reflection
Sometimes my actions sure don't exhibit any sign or a presence of knowing Jesus, the Father, or the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the things that come out of my mouth and the actions I take fall far short of anything like knowing God. Yet, I do know God. I have seen the Word made flesh active in life. I have seen and felt the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Yet... yet... there is this tearing apart that takes place. This pull that grabs and drags, in an instant, in the exact opposite direction that I want to go. The storm comes and the storm of anger flashes and rumbles and then stops. What is left are broken branches and wind damage and pain and suffering.
But then there is the realization of what I have done. Then there is the time to be humble before God and humans to my sinful self. Humbled by evil actions, I go to God and to those I have hurt and repent. Slowly the clouds clear and the sun comes out. There is consequences however. I must clean up the damage and repair the relationships. I must, but I can't do this on my own, because I need God's help and guidance and God's discipline.
And it's in this moment that I begin to see the presence of knowing Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit. Not because of repentance, not because of an effort to change, but because I know that God is going to be present even when sinfulness pulls towards that storm of evil.
I hear the words of Jesus that I am his and all of his are God's. I hear the words of Jesus echo in my mind a request that the Father protect me so that I may be one with another as Jesus and God are One. And then I look up and see the glory of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all One, yet all unique.
So, what am I to do with how I act? What am I to do now? Once again, I hear the words of Jesus. "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. "
I come to know God through the gracious gift of Jesus coming, birth, life, ministry, healing, suffering, temptation, dying, rising and ascending to heaven. Yes, I come to know God through Jesus. I turn in sinfulness to Jesus to know him more. Yes, I believe that God sent Jesus into this world so that I may know God. I may know God in flesh and God in Spirit and God as love. And I ask that my evil and sinful self be put behind so that Jesus be glorified and that God would protect and guide all the way as I walk this life in this world.
What else could I do? For the scripture passage above is a prayer from Jesus for his disciples just before Jesus takes that gruesome walk towards betrayal, denial, suffering and death upon the cross... for all the sinful people of this world, for you... for me... for the sake of all the world. Yes, this is Jesus prayer for all of those who come to know him. Jesus knows first hand the struggles we face and yet he still chooses to love us to death as we walk life in this world.
Thanks be to God!
Song
When I rise to start a new day as your disciple... when I come to you in prayer... it's so refreshing to recall your prayer for all of your disciples. May we all come to know you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU4U8_wMdRs
Prayer
Lord, as I deal with my sinful self and this sinful world, lead and guide, protect and forgive, discipline and change me into what you would have me be, for I am yours. I believe and place all of my hope and life into your hands. May I glorify you and proclaim your glorious love to all the world that all you give to me may come to see that life is all about you and that gracious gift you give to all the world... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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