Be brave!

John 17:11-19 Last Prayer of Jesus

11 For I'm no longer going to be visible in the world; They'll continue in the world while I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life That you conferred as a gift through me, So they can be one heart and mind 12 As we are one heart and mind. As long as I was with them, I guarded them In the pursuit of the life you gave through me; I even posted a night watch. And not one of them got away, Except for the rebel who chose to be lost (the exception that proved the rule of Scripture). 13 Now I'm returning to you. I'm saying these things in the world's hearing So my people can experience My joy completed in them. 14 I gave them your word; The godless world hated them because of it, Because they didn't join the world's ways, 15 Just as I didn't join the world's ways. I'm not asking that you take them out of the world But that you guard them from the Evil One. 16 They are no more defined by the world Than I am defined by the world. 17 Make them holy-- consecrated-- with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. 18 In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. 19 I'm consecrating myself for their sakes So they'll be truth-consecrated in their mission. I'm not asking that you take them out of the world; But that you guard them from the Evil One.

Food for thought!

In his farewell, we note that Jesus did not pray that his disciples be taken out of this world. He never prayed that we might find escape; he prayed that we might find victory; he prayed not to run away but to face the rough and tumbles of life. This means that our prayer and meditation and quiet times, when we shut the door upon the world to be alone with God, are not intended to be flight from the challenges of the world; they are not meant to withdraw us from life, but to equip us better for it. Prayer does not offer us release from problems, but a way to face and solve them. It does not offer us an easy peace, but a triumphant warfare. It does not offer us a life in which troubles are escaped and evaded, but a life in which troubles are faced and conquered.

In today's first reading, Paul is doing his farewell too (Acts 20:36-38)

36 Then Paul went down on his knees, all of them kneeling with him, and prayed. 37 And then a river of tears. Much clinging to Paul, not wanting to let him go. 38 They knew they would never see him again-- he had told them quite plainly. The pain cut deep. Then, bravely, they walked him down to the ship.

Please, note that the people knelt down in prayer, even as they cried! Then, got up and bravely, walked Paul down to the ship that took him to Rome, where he was persecuted. This is what we must do whenever we have a challenge before us: PAUSE FOR PRAYER TO JESUS, THEN BRAVELY STAND UP, COLLECT YOURSELF AND THEN GO FORWARD TO FACE YOUR CHALLENGE, YOUR PROBLEM, YOUR ENEMY, YOUR DAY, YOUR MEETING, etc. Even as you weep, even as you struggle, even as you don't understand why this happens to you, even as you are sorrowful, stand up and match on forward. Be brave, as Jesus told us yesterday: «In the world you will have trouble. Be brave!.»

Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples

Where there are divisions, where there is exclusiveness, where there is competition between the Churches, the families, the individuals, the cause of Christianity is harmed and the prayer of Jesus frustrated. The gospel cannot truly be preached in any congregation which is not one united band of brothers. The world cannot be evangelized by competing Churches; the divided army cannot win. Jesus prayed that his disciples might be as fully one as he and the Father are one; and there is no prayer of his which has been so hindered from being answered by individual Christians and by the Churches than this.

Jesus prayed that we be protected!

In his prayer, Jesus makes it quite certain that in this world there is a power of evil which is in opposition to the power of God. That is the bad news! The good news is to know that we are protected by God, who is the sentinel that stands over our lives to guard us from the assaults of evil. The fact that we fall so often is due to the fact that we try to meet life in our own strength and forget to seek the help and to remember the presence of our protecting God.

Jesus prayed that we be consecrated by the truth

What does this mean? It means to be set apart for a special task. When God called Jeremiah, he said to him: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations" (Jer.1:5). Even before his birth God had set Jeremiah apart for a special task.

It means not only to be set apart for some special office and task, it also means that we were equipped with the qualities of mind and heart and character which are necessary for that task. If a man is to serve God, he must have something of God's goodness and God's wisdom in him. He who would serve the holy God must himself be holy too. And so God does not only choose a man for his special service, and set him apart for it, he also equips a man with the qualities he needs to carry it out. We must always remember that God has chosen us out and dedicated us for his special service. That special service is that we should take the Good news to others; that we be the Good news and not the bad news. Remember that God has not left us to carry out that great task in our own strength, but out of his grace he has sent us the Holy Spirit to empower and guide us. 

We are people Jesus prayed and prays for. Do not be afraid, please.