John
17:20-26
Jesus
prayed to his Father in these words: "I'm praying not only for them but
also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about
me. 21 The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind-- Just as you,
Father, are in me and I in you. So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. 22 The same glory you
gave me, I gave them, so they'll be as unified and together as we are-- 23 I in
them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, and give the
godless world evidence that you've sent me and loved them In the same way
you've loved me. 24 Father, I want those you gave me to be with me, right where
I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, having loved me long
before there ever was a world. 25 Righteous Father, the world has never known
you, but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this
mission. 26 I have made your very being known to them-- who you are and what
you do-- And continue to make it known, so that your love for me might be in
them exactly as I am in them."
Food
for thought!
Luke
tells us in his gospel that Jesus prayed with such intensity in the night he
was captured that he sweat became like great drops of blood, (Luke 22:41-44).
First, he prayed for himself as the Cross faced him: (John 17:5) «And now,
Father, glorify me with your very own splendor, the very splendor I had in your
presence before there was a world.» Second, he prayed for his disciples: (John
17:9) «I pray for them. I'm not praying for the God-rejecting world but for
those you gave me.» Third, his prayers looked into the distant future and
distant lands. Yes, that night Jesus prayed for you and me: «I'm praying not
only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and
their witness about me.» Today's Gospel should be specially precious to us, for
it is Jesus' prayer for us.
Acts
23:6-11
When
Paul saw that some of the group were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees,
he called out in the Council, “Fellow Israelites! I am a Pharisee, the son of
Pharisees. I am on trial here because of the hope I have that the dead will
rise to life!” As soon as he said this, the Pharisees and Sadducees started to
quarrel, and the group was divided. (For the Sadducees say that people will not
rise from death and that there are no angels or spirits; but the Pharisees
believe in all three.) The shouting became louder, and some of the teachers of
the Law who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested
strongly: “We cannot find a thing wrong with this man! Perhaps a spirit or an
angel really did speak to him!” The argument became so violent that the
commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces. So he ordered his soldiers
to go down into the group, get Paul away from them, and take him into the fort.
That night the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Don't be afraid! You have given
your witness for me here in Jerusalem, and you must also do the same in Rome.”
Food
for thought!
Paul
is in court. He is being accused. He is being tied and tried. He apparently has
no way out. How will he get out of this situation? How will he escape? Humanly
speaking, Paul cannot get out of this situation. However, for God nothing is
impossible. Nothing.
Paul
has been praying. And because of his prayer, he was inspired to see something
that would save him. The reading says that "Paul saw that some of the
group were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees, he called out in the
Council, “Fellow Israelites! I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. I am on
trial here because of the hope I have that the dead will rise to life!” In
other words, Paul got an insight to see that two enemies were joined together
against him.
So
he took chance; he played smart. He spoke up. Yes, prayer makes us smart. It
makes us see things from God's perspective. In other words, prayer makes us
smart. Be smart, Pray!
In
today's gospel reading, Jesus shows us how to pray. With confidence! When Jesus
prayed that night he was about to be captured and later killed; when Jesus
prayed his followers were not only few, but also were to abandon him. Even with
his capture and death just hours away, Jesus' confidence was unshaken, and he
was praying for those who would come to believe in his name. He knew that his
death was never going to be the end; he knew that there was light beyond the
tunnel; that always there is daybreak after nightfall; that there is a
resurrection Sunday after a Good Friday; that there was a crown after the cross.
This
is what prayer makes us be; able to see hope in a hopeless situation; able to
do good despite evil all around you. Jesus knew that the disciples did not
fully understand him; he knew that in a very short time they were going to
abandon him in his hour of dire need. Yet to these very men he looked with
complete confidence to spread his name throughout the world. Jesus never lost
his faith in God or his confidence in man. What Jesus is teaching us all is
that God is present in our pain, and that although we may not “see” Him, our
faith says, “He is.”
BTW:
If you don’t do anything else, do have faith in God for everything, in
everything, and through everything.
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