207. Saturday after Third Sunday after Easter.
Lord Jesus, grant us again the mercy,
that we may hear thee pray. Amen.
John 17, 6-11. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
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Jesus here prays for us, his disciples; not for the world. To be sure, he prays for the world also, but not in this particular prayer. For there is an immense difference between the disciples of Jesus and the children of the world. The former are the Father’s especial gift to the Son. Jesus says: “Thou gavest me them; thine they were, and thou gavest them me.” Not until we are in heaven shall we fully understand exactly what is meant by this, that they were the Father’s, and that he gave them to the Son; but even now we understand at least this much, that it is something unutterably precious and great. The disciples of Jesus are, then, chosen and set aside from the world. When the children of the world hear the word concerning the Father and the Son their souls are enveloped in darkness, and they do not understand what they hear. The disciples of Jesus, on the other hand, grasp the truth in their hearts, and keep it. It has become clear and sure to them that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world; and they see the love which is herein revealed. They believe and confess that the Son is one with the Father; that in Christ the heart of God lies open before us; that Christ is the living way by which we have free access to the Father. These disciples of Christ are his dearly beloved treasures and the children of the Father. As the Father gave them to the Son, so they are again, through the Son, become the Father’s own; “for all mine are thine, and thine are mine.” For us, what infinite happiness and glory! And this grace belongs not only to the first disciples, but to all believers. For, in verse 20, Jesus says: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” In consequence, the Father and Son are unspeakably great, glorious, and precious to them that believe. The election of the faithful, their redemption, the love of the Father and the intercession of Christ for them, the light of the word and the gracious gift of faith; — all these things are more precious to the believers than gold to the miser; they rejoice in it, but at the same time it humbles their hearts as they remember that they are entirely unworthy to receive this great mercy. — What divine goodness in the care with which Jesus guards his disciples! “I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” This the Father will surely do; he has always heard the prayers of his Son. Hallelujah!
We thank thee for thy prayer, and for all things, Lord Jesus. We thank thee, heavenly Father, for thy unspeakably great gift. Blessed be the Holy Trinity forever and ever! Amen.
Thou who art three in unity,
True God from all eternity,
Though daylight vanish into night,
Yet shines on us thy heavenly light.
We praise thee with the dawning day,
To thee at eve for mercy pray;
With our poor song we worship thee
Now, ever, and eternally.
Let God the Father be adored,
And God the Son, the only Lord,
And God the Holy Spirit be
Adored through all eternity.