THURSDAY, SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER
Acts 22:30; 23: 6-11; Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-11; Jn 17: 20-26
HE THOUGHT OF ME!
In his final hour, the Lord carries his beloved disciples in his heart. He is more concerned for them than for himself: He asks the Father to keep them in love, to support them on their journey. But He doesn’t stop there: His prayer expands and looks beyond the boundaries of history, to reach us. “I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me.”
Pause for a moment to reflect on what this means. Jesus, knowing that in a few hours, he would be arrested and thus would enter into his passion, spends his last moments thinking of us, praying for us… It moves me to think that I was present in some way in Gethsemane, that I was present in the Lord’s heart. It moves me to realize that he knew the struggle we would face to stand with him in a world where constant attacks are launched against his gospel.
He knew, and he prayed that we may recognize the strength of the bond of unity we share with him; a bond so intimate, that it resembles his bond with the Father. He prayed that we may recognize our need to walk together with others, strengthening our weak brother/sister in the faith when we are strong, and being supported by them when we are weak. “May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you.”
Those disciples who heard him pray for them abandoned him in his moment of most need; he knew they would, and yet, he didn’t give up on them. “With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realize that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.” Neither did he give up on “those also who through their words will believe in me” even though he knew we would do the same. He will never give up on us, because he loves us and believes in us.
Response: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
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