Easter 7a (John 17:1-11)
As Jesus anticipates what is about to happen and is aware that their world is about to change, he takes one more opportunity to pray that this relationship they have had with him will continue to infuse the relationship they have with each other.
Can you remember a time when someone really prayed for you? I don’t just mean told you they’d pray for you, but really poured out their heart to God on your behalf? I hope you have had that experience because it’s humbling to eavesdrop on someone telling God that they love you, what they want for you, and what they’re concerned about on your behalf.
That’s what we get in the gospel reading today. Jesus is at the table in the upper room. We know it as the Last Supper. He seemed to know that his time with them was coming to an end. But his disciples knew it as a shared meal in preparation for the Passover. Having a meal together wasn’t unusual for them. But this meal was not a usual meal. In chapter 13, Jesus got up from the table, took his robe off and tied a towel around his waist, and washed his disciples’ feet. That was maybe their first clue that something was going on. And then Jesus started talking about being betrayed, and Judas gets up and leaves. Maybe that was their second clue. And then with dishes that needed to be cleared away and bodies that were tired and full from a long day and a full meal, Jesus began talking. And between chapters 14 and 17, Jesus seems to be summarizing and reiterating everything he hopes the disciples have been learning from him in their time together. We call it his final discourse, because he knows his time with them is coming to an end and it’s like he’s saying all the things he feels he’s running out of time to say. At this point, I assume they realize that something is going on. Let’s assume some of them start dozing off while others poke them in the ribs to keep them awake. Let’s assume some get distracted and others give them the glare across the table to remind them to focus and listen.
And then Jesus starts praying for them. What a gift it is to us that we get to hear that prayer, which wasn’t just for whoever was around the table, but extended beyond that group to those who would be impacted by that group, and those who would be impacted by those who would be impacted, and those who would come after who would continue to be impacted. Jesus wasn’t just praying for his disciples. He was praying for us. Jesus wasn’t just praying for his disciples. He was praying for us.
Let me pause and go back to my original question: what does it feel like when you hear someone praying for you? My parents had five kids, so their practice was to pray for one kid each day of the week. They would do this out loud with each other during their devotion time, but also with us as a family if we were eating supper together. So for as long as I can remember, I knew that on Thursdays, my parents were praying for me. Sometimes I would take it for granted and I would forget. But as we got older and left the house, the opportunities we had to be together as a family to hear my parents pray for us changed. And every now and then, even today, when I am going through something challenging, if it is a Thursday, I’ll feel a boost of support and love as I remember that my parents prayed for me. Hearing them express their love, care and concern for me in prayer is something I hope I never forget.
In John 17, which is one of the richest theological passages in the New Testament, Jesus begins and ends with a prayer that his disciples will know God. His prayer is that by knowing him, they will know God. This is at the heart of John’s gospel: to know Jesus is to know God. From the first chapter of John, where we read about Jesus being the Word made flesh, we are told that Jesus is the physical presence of all that God is, in a way we don’t exactly understand. But Jesus says more than once in John—to know me is to know God. For John, knowing God is not about cognitively acknowledging something and then defending that knowledge with creeds and convictions. For John, knowing God through Jesus is about being in relationship.[1] It’s not just about knowing God, it’s about being known BY God. Jesus doesn’t just want the disciples to know that by knowing him they know God, but also that they are known by God because they are known by him. The circular nature of the language I think draws us into the relational entanglement that Jesus is trying to communicate: I am in my Father, he is in me, be in us, be in each other.
For the disciples, this invitation into relationship isn’t an abstract idea. Jesus has been in a very real relationship with them. He has called them by name. He has laughed with them. He has cried with them. He has gotten angry with them and has rejoiced with them. He has eaten with them and slept with them. He’s been through storms with them. He knows them. And now, as he anticipates what is about to happen and is aware that their world is about to change, he takes one more opportunity to pray that this relationship they have had with him will continue to infuse the relationship they have with each other. He prays that they will never forget that he knows them and loves them. He prays that the love he has shared with them, which is the love that God has for them, will go on in their love for one another and will extend beyond those at the table to those not yet in the world, so that through them the whole world will know—not just acknowledge, but really know—that it is loved. Lutheran theologian David Lose says, “Beyond that, this prayer is simply Jesus sharing what is most deeply on his heart at the moment — that he is coming to the end of his earthly mission, that God would see him through to the end, and that God would take care of his friends now that he has to leave them behind.”[2]
Today is the seventh Sunday in the season of Easter. During this season we have been remembering the promise of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life as we proclaim together: Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen indeed! The promise of Easter is the promise of eternal life. And in this prayer that Jesus prays, he reminds us that eternal life isn’t about a far-off reality that we only experience after we die. Eternal life, Jesus says, is to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Eternal life isn’t about reciting a prayer to avoid punishment. It’s about being transformed by the truth that God knows us and wants to be known by us. And not knowing in just a head kind of way, but knowing in a relationship kind of way.
As we move from the season of Easter into the season of Pentecost, we remember that the ministry of Jesus didn’t end at his crucifixion. It didn’t even end at his ascension, which is what our reading from Acts tells us. The season of Pentecost reminds us that the ministry of Jesus continues in each of us. “The Gospel of John presents Jesus as the one who is one with God, who can do God’s work of closing the distance between God and the world. The gospel of John takes the image a step further. We are the ones who can show what God is like… As we love one another, God lives in us. When we love one another, God’s love is perfected. We now get to be part of closing the distance between God and the world. We get to bring God’s love to its intended purpose.[3]
We have a moment in our worship each week where we lift up the prayers of the people. In our prayer petitions, we name our desire for hope and healing in the world, in our communities, in our church, and in the lives of those we name who we know are suffering. Today we are reminded that before we think to pray for each other, Jesus is praying for us.
So maybe that’s where we leave it for today. Maybe instead of feeling like we have to figure out how to take a lesson from Jesus and put it into our own words and actions for the week, maybe we just listen. Maybe we put aside our disappointment at the many ways we fail to be the body of Christ in the way we want to be. Maybe we release ourselves from the pressure of all that we know needs to be fixed. We put aside the insecurities we feel at not having the right words to say, or not knowing where to start or what to do about the pain and suffering we feel within us and see around us. Maybe, for today, even as we might be tired and overwhelmed, or distracted and distant, even as we are uncertain about the world that is changing around us, we take a minute to let Jesus remind us that he knows. He loves us. And maybe, for today, we just listen as Jesus prays for us.
[1] Karoline Lewis: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/seventh-sunday-of-easter/commentary-on-john-171-11-5
[2] David Lose, https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/jesus-prayer-and-ours
[3] Lindsey Scott, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/seventh-sunday-of-easter/commentary-on-john-171-11-4