"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." - John 17:20-23
Sunday past was the last Sunday in the Easter festival. It was also the Sunday immediately following the Ascension. Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday.
Some weeks ago, I visited a young man in hospital. During my visit, I asked, "Do you care if I say a prayer for you?" His response was an abrupt "No!" Well I left it there. I still prayed for him in my heart and when I returned home and I continue to pray for him.
Someone says prayer involves begging. To pray is to plead or implore. Humanity prays because of great needs and distress.
The poverty stricken beggar on the street hopes for help and pleads for it. He pleads to strangers and is uncertain whether he will get help. We, on the other hand, plead to God from whom we are guaranteed a response and help.
Jesus, in the above text, prays to God, his father, first for his disciples and then he prays for the church as a whole. He was aware of the trials ahead for his small band of followers. He knew of the great difficulties they would face in the future.
He knew that the church would need God's grace and mercy and his protection. Therefore, before ascending to his father, he interceded on behalf of both the disciples and the church.
During the time of the disciples, the world was quite hostile toward God and the church. Jesus was aware of this, and he knew that as time progressed, the world would become even more hostile toward God and the church. We in the church are experiencing new hostilities daily.
This prayer gives us a unity that makes us one in Christ Jesus. Through him and in him, we are one body, striving for the kingdom of God. Jesus continues to intercede for us who are still in our earthly pilgrimage.
The young man in the illustration said he did not need prayer. However, little did he know, it is the prayers of many who, through their prayers, keep him going.
We all need prayers, not only to keep us firm in the faith, but to keep us on our daily course. People we don't know are constantly praying for us.
We in the church are called to pray, not only for ourselves and for our family, but for the people of the world. We are to tell the world of the love of the father which he displayed for humanity in the son who gave up his life that we can inherit the kingdom of God.
Jesus' prayer is an all-encompassing prayer. We thank God that he did pray for us in order that we meet the challenges that the world presents for us. Where would we be without it?
This prayer kept the disciples on course, proclaiming a God the world did not know. They received courage, tenacity and strength to make God known to the world.
This prayer is also for us who follow in the train of those original apostles. We too are guided and protected by this prayer.
We are thankful that he prayed for the church. Yes, this prayer gives us all that we need to carry on, especially in the face of the adversity, which the church continues to encounter in a world hostile toward God. Amen
o Reverend Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas, or telephone 426-9084; E-mail: lutheranchurch@coralwave.com.
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