He Desires That We Share in His Intimacy
Dear Parishioners,
As we draw close to celebrating the Feast of Pentecost, which brings the Easter season to a close, today’s Gospel reading from Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John draws our attention to Jesus’ farewell message and His priestly prayer addressed to the Eternal Father before His crucifixion.
Jesus asks to be glorified and to reveal God’s glory to His disciples and to those who are yet to believe. He intercedes for His disciples, praying for their protection and sanctification in truth. This prayer is a treasure of spiritual riches because Jesus reveals the deep intimacy that exists between Himself and the Father. He desires that we share in this same intimacy.
Consider when He made this prayer. It was before He entered into the agony of Gethsemane, immediately after the Last Supper. He addressed the Eternal Father, revealing the innermost concerns of His heart more clearly and profoundly than ever before. The weight of His words is priceless — the heartfelt plea of a soul preparing to embrace suffering and death. It tells us how much He loves us and how deeply He desires that no one be excluded from intimacy with God. It gives us a glimpse into His deepest feelings about humanity. He appeals to the Eternal Father to carry out His plan of love.
Jesus did not limit His prayer to His closest companions alone; rather, He prayed “for those who will believe in me through their word.” He was praying for all people who, throughout human history, would accept His word and recognize Him as the Son of God. We too are beneficiaries of Jesus’ prayer because we have come to believe. We must never take this gift for granted.
He goes on to pray for unity of purpose and mission. His plea is: “That all may be one.” Perhaps He foresaw the dangers ahead and the corrosive nature of disunity. He prayed that those who believe in Him would be sincere, open-hearted, and alive in their faith.
Today, we still hope for the fulfillment of this intention. We continue to witness the scandal of Christian disunity across the globe. To a certain extent, this disunity among believers has weakened our ability to bear effective witness to the Gospel.
Nevertheless, Jesus offers us a model to follow: a sincere faith and unity that reflect the communion between the Eternal Father and the Son: “As you, Father, are in me, and I in you.” Through such unity, the world will come to know that Jesus loves humanity and has come to redeem it from sin and death.
Jesus withheld nothing from humanity. He gave everything He received from the Eternal Father. Ultimately, He offered Himself on the Cross so that all may have eternal life. He now invites us to follow in His footsteps.
Next Sunday, we will celebrate the Feast of Pentecost — the coming of the Holy Spirit, who enlightens and renews humanity and fashions us into the People of God. The Spirit gives courage and strength.
Come, Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth, and rekindle in our drowsy hearts the fire of Your love.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Rev. Vitalis Anyanike
Pastor
