John
17:11-19
Now I am leaving the world, and leaving them behind, and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your own care—all those you have given me—so that they will be united just as we are, with none missing. During my time here I have kept safe within your family all of these you gave me. I guarded them so that not one perished, except the son of hell, as the Scriptures foretold.
“And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so that they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your commands. And the world hates them because they don’t fit in with it, just as I don’t. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from Satan’s power. They are not part of this world any more than I am. Make them pure and holy through teaching them your words of truth. As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world, and I consecrate myself to meet their need for growth in truth and holiness.
Food for thought!
In his farewell, we note that Jesus did not pray that his disciples be taken out of this world (I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from Satan’s power). 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)
"When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them, and they wept aloud as they embraced him in farewell, sorrowing most of all because he said that he would never see them again. Then they accompanied him down to the ship."
Please, note that Paul and 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 AND CALL UPON HIS NAME; 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. We’re promised that in this world we will have trouble—we should count on it and be brave (see John 16: 33). But through it all, in every valley, we should trust in God’s sovereignty, supernatural power, love, mercy, and grace.
We are people Jesus prayed and prays for. Do not be afraid, please.
Now I am leaving the world, and leaving them behind, and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your own care—all those you have given me—so that they will be united just as we are, with none missing. During my time here I have kept safe within your family all of these you gave me. I guarded them so that not one perished, except the son of hell, as the Scriptures foretold.
“And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so that they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your commands. And the world hates them because they don’t fit in with it, just as I don’t. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from Satan’s power. They are not part of this world any more than I am. Make them pure and holy through teaching them your words of truth. As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world, and I consecrate myself to meet their need for growth in truth and holiness.
Food for thought!
In his farewell, we note that Jesus did not pray that his disciples be taken out of this world (I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from Satan’s power). 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)
"When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them, and they wept aloud as they embraced him in farewell, sorrowing most of all because he said that he would never see them again. Then they accompanied him down to the ship."
Please, note that Paul and 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 AND CALL UPON HIS NAME; 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. We’re promised that in this world we will have trouble—we should count on it and be brave (see John 16: 33). But through it all, in every valley, we should trust in God’s sovereignty, supernatural power, love, mercy, and grace.
We are people Jesus prayed and prays for. Do not be afraid, please.
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