John 17:1-11 (NRSV)
Read John 17:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 17After 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, Verse 2since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. Verse 3And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Verse 4I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. Verse 5So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
Verse 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. Verse 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; Verse 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. Verse 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. Verse 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
Verse 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.
Devotion
Most visual depictions of Jesus praying show him off by himself in a secluded location, like the Garden of Gethsemane. For instance, in Hieronymus Wierix’s engraving “Christ Praying in the Garden on the Mount of Olives” the disciples snooze in the foreground while Jesus agonizes in prayer behind them. And yet, our gospel reading from John this week presents an altogether different portrait. Jesus is praying aloud for his friends right in front of them.
(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_Praying_in_the_Garden_on_the_Mount_of_Olives_MET_270008.jpg)
In the weekly Bible Study at my church, we often end our time together through intercessory prayer. After a brief check-in, we join hands around the table and take turns lifting each other up before God. When we first started this practice, it was rather awkward and people were uncomfortable with the attention. With time, the silent pauses and search for words became prayer themselves and the shared experience brings relief and succor to all who participate.
Prayer
Abba/Imma, you knit us together into one Christ-centered body. May our prayers fall freely on the ears of your beloved, even as they rise to you. Amen.
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