Friday after the Ascension, June 2, 2022

John 17, 20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so 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. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I 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. Father, 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. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I 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.”

The lectionary continues with St. John’s account of the Lord’s prayer for unity after the Last Supper.  “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.”  The Lord does not say, Who will believe in my philosophy or religious teachings, but Who will believe in me.  Faith includes belief that the Lord’s teachings are true, but this belief is based on our belief in him.  Faith is, firstly, a relationship between persons, in this case it is our supernatural relationship with Jesus: we believe in him because we love him, and we love him “because God first loved us” (1 John 4, 19).  Our response to his love is enabled by the Holy Spirit.  “So 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.”  The Church, then, is the sign of the fact that the Father sent the Son into the world.  The Church exists because Christ himself founded it and sustains it.  It could not have grown after the Death of Jesus unless he had risen and then sent the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.  It could not have spread throughout the world except for the Lord’s working through it.  It could not have held on to its unchanging doctrine unless through divine protection.  “And that you loved them even as you loved me.”  The Creator loves his lowly sinful creatures as he loves his own divine Son, excelling in every perfection.  This is a stupendous statement, and a revelation, since no human mind could have come upon this truth through reason alone.  God’s love for us is almost madness.  “They are your gift to me.”  The Son loves us for ourselves and also for the sake of the Father who gave us to him.  You and I are gifts given by the Almighty Father to his Son.

“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.”  This is a most majestic passage.  The Son loves us and wants us earnestly to be in heaven with him so that they may see his glory — they may have eternal happiness in his glory, which comes from the love the Father had for him from before all time.  Before the creation of the universe, for uncounted ages, the Father loved the Son with his whole being, and the Son returned this love in full.  “Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.”  The world does not know, that is, does not acknowledge his authority.  It takes a lot of work to be an atheist because the atheist is constantly bumping into clear evidence of God’s existence and love for people.  Most atheists know God exists and fight against him by telling themselves over and over that he does not exist.

“I 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.”  To know the name of God is to know him.  For the Israelites, a person’s identity was known from his ancestors and from the meaning of his name.  Names were not mere labels as they are today but expressions of identity.  God, having no ancestors, is known only through his name, but his name cannot be spoken or written.  Only the high priest was allowed to speak his name, and that was done only once a year.  God’s name, then, is unknowable, and so he is beyond our comprehension.  But we can know about him from what the Lord Jesus says, and what the Holy Spirit says through the Apostles.  St. John tells us the meaning of God’s name in human language when he tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4, 16).  If we read the Lord’s Prayer to his Father straight through, we see that this is what he is saying about his Father, that he is Love itself.  This love the Lord wishes us to experience to the fullest degree so that we can glorify him in our sharing it with others.