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
“The wings of charity are
large and wide, and thus it flies above the Cherubim and Seraphim and all the
choirs of angels. Through charity, the many are made into one-uniting those
above with those below as well as those in the center. It likewise produces...a
joy that is rooted in divine love.”
Thomas a Kempis, A Little Garden
of Roses
By the time John's Gospel is written, a generation of church life has passed. Just think of all the twists
and turns that happen over a generation in a family, or a person’s life. Now
remember that in its first era, the church was breaking every kind of cultural,
ethnic, economic, linguistic, and geographical boundary.
A church I once attended
was made up of people from a great diversity of ethnic-social backgrounds, and religious
heritages. There was wide range of economic circumstances, from some of the
wealthiest in the city to those living in neighborhood halfway houses and
recovery centers. Approximately twenty different zip codes were represented. The sense of community and harmony was
palpable. There was a common search to experience God’s love and discover a spiritual self. Another church I
attended was very homogeneous. Those gathered looked alike and spoke with insider language. Most in attendance were of one ethnicity and looked to be well under 50. The sense of Christ’s community seemed to be
muted, because the group already shared much, at least in cultural terms.
Many churches pray at the
Lord’s Table, “Make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in
ministry…” Jesus Christ has never stopped praying for his church. Unity
and harmony is the fruit of being loved by God in Jesus Christ. It is "large and wide" in its reach and community. And through this love all will know Jesus’
disciples. (John 13:3)
