I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 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. 22 And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 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. 24 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. 25 Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. 26 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.”
Jesus then prayed to the Father for all who will come to believe through the word of the disciples and their successors and for the continuity of his mission and the unity of the Church throughout time. He also prayed that the faithful may live in unity and mirror the unity Jesus shares with his Father, a unity that cannot be experienced outside of God’s love manifested in Jesus. It is a unity that will reveal to the world that Jesus, the Son of God, was sent by the Father. Jesus gave his disciples participation in the divine life by sharing the glory the Father gave him with his disciples. It is the glory of being adopted sons of God which includes a unity like the union of the Father and the Son. The Father loves the Church, the body of Christ, the disciples of the Apostles, as he loves the Son. Jesus prayed that he may remain in the disciples just as the Father remained in him so that they may be brought to spiritual maturity as a unity. Jesus wants the disciples to imitate him so that they may attain unity with God and each other.
Believers are God’s gift to Jesus, and it is Jesus’ desire they may be in union with him and see the glory God gave him from the beginning. The glory of the Son, the divine nature of the Godhead (the Trinity), in all its magnificence, will be the final reward. Jesus addressed the Father as righteous (just) and affirmed that he knows the Father and his disciples know that God sent him. The world does not recognize the Father, but the Son knows the Father, and the Son made known to the disciples that he was sent by the Father. The Son will also make it known to the disciples that the love with which the Father loves him is in them and he is in them. We are the Body of Christ and when the Father loves the Son, the head, the whole body is also loved.
Almighty God, you sent your Son to show us how to love you and one another the way Christ loved us. Help us to be one in heart and purpose so that we may reflect the perfect unity of the Trinity. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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