The Prayer of Jesus

Today's Reflections 

      

The Prayer of Jesus

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.”

THAT THEY MAY BE ONE. “Ut unum sint!” This prayer of Jesus has become a popular slogan. It is also behind the ecumenical movement towards Christian unity in the Church after Vatican Council II.

What does it mean to be one? Jesus prays for unity not only of his disciples but also of those who will believe in him through their word. It means that the Church or the community of disciples is not simply an offshoot of Jesus’ ministry. It is already in the heart of Jesus—and in the heart of God—from the beginning.

Commenting on Caiaphas’ advice to the Sanhedrin that it is better for the Jews that one man (Jesus) should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish, the evangelist declares that Jesus will indeed die, but not according to the calculation of the high priest. Jesus will die for God’s purpose, and that is to gather into one the dispersed children of God—Jews and Greeks alike.

“In necessariis unitas,

in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.”

(“Unity in necessary things;

liberty in doubtful things; charity in all things.”)