The Prayer of Jesus
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Jn 17:20-26
[Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,] 20“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21so
that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that
they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. 22And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23I
in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even
as you loved me.
24Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am
they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. 26I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”
Reflection:
That they may be one, as we are one. Jesus
expresses in this prayer his profoundest desire for us. He wants us to
be one as he and the Father are one in the Holy Spirit. He wants us to
be completely one in faith, hope, and love, despite our diversity. He
wants us to be one in him and in his Father: “I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one.”
Unfortunately,
Christ’s prayer has not been fully realized. Believers in Jesus have
split in many Christian groups. Because of this division, many who
should be brought to believe in Jesus through the witness of Christian
unity are prevented from believing in Jesus. We should feel in our
hearts the wound of the disunity of Christians and Christian churches
and should pray as Jesus did.
Pray for the unity of all Christians
in the visible unity of the one Church of Christ.
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