Reflection on John 17:6-19

 

John 17:6-19

[Jesus prayed:] 6“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. 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for 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. 9I 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. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11And 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. 12While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Reflection

The family was never the kind of family that said, “I love you.”  Rarely, did they ever even show outward affection, such as hugs.  Public kisses were out of the question.

The family’s sense of spirituality was similar.  As the children grew, the parent’s did take them to church every once and a while, but there was never any talk of God at the dinner table, and there definitely was no open family prayer. 

Years, after the father had died, and when it was apparent that the mother was in her final days, the daughter brought her mother to live with her husband and children.  The daughter had made certain that her family was different.  They were affectionate and loving.  They did pray together.  But, her mother was her mother, and when they brought her into their home, her mother was no more affectionate or religious than years before.  She excused herself to her room before evening prayers without offering hugs or kisses to the kids.  The daughter feared that her mother did not care about God at all, and, maybe even more sad to her, did not care about her or her family. 

Then, one evening just days before her mother died, the daughter walked by her mother’s bedroom door and overheard her mother talking.  Her mother was saying, “Holy Father, protect them when I am gone.  Do not let anything hurt them or tear them apart.  Let them know that they are loved.”

“She loved me, and prayed for me,” the daughter cried.

Over and over again the daughter repeated through her tears, “She loved me.  She loved me.  She loved me.”

There is something very powerful when you know that someone is truly praying for you.  There is something very powerful in knowing that you are loved enough that someone would stop and take the time to talk to God about you.

“I did not know.  For all of that time I did not know, and now I do.  It makes her death easier I think,” the daughter said.  “If only I had known sooner.  Why did she never tell me?”

I did not know the answer.  Maybe, she took Jesus literally when he taught us to go into our rooms and pray in secret.  Maybe, her own family lacked outward affection and prayer, and she simply did not know how, or was too embarrassed to try.  There is just no way to know.  But, the important thing was that the mother did pray for those she loved.  She did care.

“I am glad I could overhear her.  It makes things so much easier,” the daughter said one last time.  There is something very powerful in knowing that you are loved enough that someone would stop and take the time to talk to God about you.

And, that is why I love this prayer in the gospel of John, because Jesus too is about to leave those he loves.  Jesus’ time on the cross is just around the corner, and instead of taking the time to mount a defense, or complete a bucket list, or wallow in despair, Jesus chooses to use the remaining time that he has left on this earth to pray for his disciples.

“Protect them in your name that you have given me,” Jesus prays, “so that they may be one, as we are one” (John 17:11).

How often has a death caused confusion and division within those close to the one who died?  How many families have been torn apart because of squabbles about who gets the precious china, or the guitar, or who was the favorite or most devoted child?  Precisely, at the moment when the forces of chaos threaten to tear people apart, when death seems to be pushing us further apart, the Word of God, the whisper that brought life to the universe breathes some words that ask that we stay together.  The world is too hard to go it alone.  Grief is too hard to go through it without anyone.  And, the savior of the whole world takes the time to pray that those he loves will continue on together.  “Protect them…so that they may be one…”

Prayers like that can only mean one thing: we are loved.  You are loved.  In Jesus Christ we are all loved and made a part of one another.  “All mine are yours, and yours are mine” Jesus prays to God the Father (John 17:10). 

As we overhear Jesus’ prayer, as we listen through the door with our ears pressed to our Bibles, we hear the heart of Jesus.  “You are mine.”  Jesus prays confidently, knowing that we belong to him.

There are so many others out there who would claim you.  Your political party wants your undivided love; so that they can claim you and you would follow them.  Your car manufacturer wants your undivided love, so that they can keep selling their cars to you, and you might continue driving their brand.  Even some of your friends or family members want your undivided love, requiring that you to be loyal to them. 

I was once asked if I would please bar someone from coming into the church.  “This is my church!  I was here first!  I need this place to be my space,” they pleaded.  And, though I understood their pain and their yearning to have a place free from this one person they hated, I had to tell them “no.” 

The church of Jesus Christ does not belong to us.  And, even though I say “my church” all the time, this is not “my” church, or “your” church, or “their” church.  The body of Jesus does not belong to “me.”  We belong to Jesus Christ.  The church belongs to Jesus Christ, not the other way around. 

I reminded this person that we belong to Jesus.  Since we belong to Jesus, we glorify, we reflect, we mirror the ways of Jesus.  In Jesus’ church, those we hate are prayed for and included, just as Jesus taught.  In Jesus’ church, the sinner is forgiven and given a second, and third, and fourth chance, just as Jesus taught. 

“I cannot bar this person from the church.  I have no right.” I told them.  “If I was talking to them, and they were asking me to bar you from coming, I am certain that you would want me to answer the same way.”

“You are mine,” the heart of Jesus declares.  That is the promise.  No matter what happens, all of us belong to Jesus.  And, quite frankly, we need to hear that promise over and over again. 

In our bible story, the disciples need to hear Jesus pray those words also.  Very soon, Jesus will be leaving them.  The cross is near.  So, Jesus prays:  “But now I am coming to you” (John 17:13).  And, again he prays:  “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15).

“Protect them.”  This is the most common prayer that I hear from parents around this time of year.  As seniors head off into the night to have one last party before school is done and friends move on I hear parents pray, “Protect them.”  As those same young adults head off into their own lives, making their own mistakes, I hear parents praying even more strongly, “Protect them!” 

And, Jesus prays it too.  He also prays that the forces of chaos and evil not take hold of our lives.

“Remember everything that I taught you,” parents say as the child leaves, and Jesus prays that too.  Jesus prays that we continue to be a people set apart in this world, who remain with Jesus and stand for everything for which Jesus stood: loving neighbor; praying for the enemy; giving our lives up for our friends; and being a people of love, a people of truth.

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:17-18).  Sanctify means to “set apart” or “set aside” something or someone for an intended purpose.  So, Jesus prays that we be “set apart,” in the world.  He prays that we might be a people who stand up with him and live in the ways of self-giving love that we see in Jesus.

And, that is Jesus’ prayer for you today; that you may know you are loved and will never forget to whom you belong, that you all remain one, that you be protected from evil, and that you live a life, set apart as Jesus’ people.  Be loved, be united, be protected, and be Jesus’ people.  Be loved, be united, be protected, and be Jesus’ people.  Be loved, be united, be protected, and be Jesus’ people.

And so, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I want to pray that same prayer for you today.  Just imagine that you are listening through the door as I pray for you, as someone who loves you.  You are worth the time.  You are worth the prayer.

Lord, we know that you love us, but sometimes we need to be reminded just how much.  Continue to love your people right here with a love that would go all the way to the cross.  Bind us together with your love so tightly that we do not let each other go.  Protect us from everything in the world that would seek to hurt us and push us apart.  Finally Lord, may our lives reflect all that Jesus cares about.  May we continue to be the love of Jesus right here, right now, where you placed us in your glorious world.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.