jesus prays for us: easter 7a

The holy gospel according to John (17:1-11)

¹After Jesus had spoken these words to his disciples,

      he looked up to heaven and said,

            “Father, the hour has come;

                  glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,

                        ²since you have given him authority over all people,

                              to give everlasting life to all whom you have given him.

                                             ³And this is everlasting life,

                                    that they may know you, the only true God,

                                    and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

            ⁴I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.

                  ⁵So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence

                        with the glory that I had in your presence

                              before the world existed.
 

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.”

The gospel of the Lord.

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Today, as Jesus brings his time with his disciples to a close, he prays for them.  This prayer is one of the last prayers they will hear before Jesus’ death and so he really packs it in.

Jesus’ prayer is not only a prayer for his disciples in 1^st century Palestine, but for us as well.  It is a prayer for us as individual followers of Christ and as a community of faith.

In my second year of college, one of my high school friends died in a car accident.  Before I went home for spring break and the memorial service, my roommate made me a small survival package to go with me.  Included were several colorful note cards with bible passages on them to provide comfort in my grieving.  These note cards have traveled with me each time I move to a new place or face a new challenge.

One of the bible passages my roommate included was Jesus’ prayer in the 17^th chapter of John, only instead of all of the “they”s referring to the whole group of disciples, she put my name, so that Jesus was praying specifically for me.

So, for the next part of the sermon, I’m going to pass out today’s gospel, with an additional part, as the prayer actually continues for the whole 17^th chapter.  There will be blanks instead of “they”s and I changed the verbs, so they should match a singular person.  Please find one other person and take turns sharing Jesus’ prayer for each other, by adding their name in the blank.  Some people go by nicknames and full names, so please check with the other person to know what name they want you to use.

Jesus prayed:

⁶“I have made your name known to _________ whom you gave me from the world. _________ was yours, and you gave _________ to me, and _________ has kept your word. ⁷Now _________ knows that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to _________, and _________ has received them and knows in truth that I came from you; and _________ has believed that you sent me. ⁹I am asking on _________‘s behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of _________ whom you gave me, because _________ is yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in _________. ¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but _________ is in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect _________ in your name that you have given me, so that _________ may be one, as we are one.”

¹⁷Sanctify _________ in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent _________ into the world. ¹⁹And for _________’s sakes I sanctify myself, so that _________ also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰”I ask not only on behalf of _________, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through _________’s word, ²¹that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may _________ also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given _________, so that _________ may be one, as we are one, ²³I in _________ and you in me, that _________ may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved _________ even as you have loved me.

Because faith and discipleship are so rooted in community, it’s important that even as we are praying for each other individually and lifting up Jesus’ prayer for each of us individually, we also pray within the context of this larger community of faith.  And it is precisely for this larger context of a community of followers of Christ that Jesus is praying.  So, now, hear this prayer from Jesus:

Jesus prayed:

⁶“I have made your name known to Trinity and First whom you gave me from the world. First and Trinity were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷Now Trinity and First know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to First and Trinity, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and Trinity and First 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 First and Trinity are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in Trinity and First. ¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but First and Trinity are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect Trinity and First in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”

¹⁷Sanctify First and Trinity in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent Trinity and First into the world. ¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that First and Trinity also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰”I ask not only on behalf of Trinity and First, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may First and Trinity also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given Trinity and First, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I in First and Trinity and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Amen.