DAILY GOSPEL COMMENTARY: THE PRIESTLY PRAYER OF JESUS 2. “That they may be one” (Jn 17:11b–19).

Wednesday, 7th week of Easter

DAILY GOSPEL COMMENTARY:
THE PRIESTLY PRAYER OF JESUS 2.
“That they may be one”
(Jn 17:11b–19).

READING I
Acts 20:28–38
At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus: “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated. I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all. They were all weeping loudly as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him, for they were deeply distressed that he had said that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.
 
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
Or: Alleluia!
Show forth, O God, show forth your might,
your might, O God, which you have shown for us.
For the sake of your temple high in Jerusalem
may kings come to you bringing their tribute.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
Or: Alleluia!
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God,
praise the Lord who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens.
He thunders his voice, his mighty voice.
Come, acknowledge the power of God.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
Or: Alleluia!
His glory is over Israel; his might is in the skies. God is to be feared in his holy place. Blessed be God!
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
Or: Alleluia!
 
ALLELUIA
Sermo tuus, Dómine, véritas est; sanctífica nos in veritáte.
Your word, O Lord, is truth; make us holy in the truth.

Gospel of Wednesday, 7th week of Easter.
(Jn 17:11b–19).

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

GOSPEL COMMENTARY from the Navarre Bible, Commentary to the Gospel of St. John (with permission)

11-19: Summary of ideas

• Jesus now asks the Father to give his disciples four things — unity, perseverance, joy and holiness.
  1. By praying him to keep them in his name (v. 11) he is asking for their perseverance in the teaching he has given them (cf. v. 6) and in communion with him.
     • An immediate consequence of this perseverance is unity: “that they may be one, even as we are one”; this unity which he asks for his disciples is a reflexion of the unity of the three divine Persons.
  2. He also prays that none of them should be lost, that the Father should guard and protect them, just as he himself protected them while he was with them.
  3. Thirdly, as a result of their union with God and perseverance they will share in the joy of Christ (v. 13): in this life, the more we know God and the more closely we are joined to him, the happier will we be; in eternal life our joy will be complete, because our knowledge and love of God will have reached its climax.
  4. Finally, he prays for those who, though living in the world, are not of the world, that they may be truly holy and carry out the mission he has entrusted to them, just as he did the work his Father gave him to do.

12 While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled.

• “That the scripture might be fulfilled”:
  • this is an allusion to what he said to the Apostles a little earlier (In 13:18) by directly quoting Sacred Scripture: “He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me” (Ps 41:10).
  • Jesus makes these references to Judas’ treachery in order to strengthen the Apostles’ faith by showing that he knew everything in advance and that the Scriptures had already foretold what would happen.
• However, Judas went astray through his own fault and not because God arranged things that way; his treachery had been taking shape little by little, through his petty infidelities, and despite our Lord helping him to repent and get back on the right road (cf. note on Jn 13:21-32);
  • Judas did not respond to this grace and was responsible for his own downfall.
  • God, who sees the future, predicted the treachery of Judas in the Scripture; Christ, being true God, knew that Judas would betray him and it is with immense sorrow that he now tells the Apostles.

14-16 I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. k 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

• In Sacred Scripture “world” has a number of meanings.
  1. First, it means the whole of creation (Gen 1: 1ff) and, within creation, mankind, which God loves most tenderly (Prov 8:31).
     • This is the meaning intended here when our Lord says, ‘I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one” (v. 15). “I have taught this constantly using words from holy Scripture. The world is not evil, because it has come from God’s hands, because it is his creation, because Yahweh looked upon it and saw that it was good (cf. Gen 1:7ff). We ourselves, mankind, make it evil and ugly with our sins and infidelities. Have no doubt: any kind of evasion from the honest realities of daily life is for you, men and women of the world, something opposed to the will of God” (St. Josemaria, Conversations, 114).
  2. In the second place, “world” refers to the things of this world, which do not last and which can be at odds with the things of the spirit (cf. Mt 16:26).
  3. Finally, because evil men have been enslaved by sin and by the devil, “the ruler of the world” (Jn 12:31; 16:11), the “world” sometimes means God’s enemy, something opposed to Christ and his followers (Jn 1:10).
     • In this sense the “world” is evil, and therefore Jesus is not of the world, nor are his disciples (v. 16).
     • It is also this pejorative meaning which is used by traditional teaching which describes the world, the flesh and the devil as enemies of the soul against which one has to be forever vigilant. “The world, the flesh and the devil are a band of adventurers who take advantage of the weakness of that savage you bear within you, and want you to hand over to them, in exchange for the glittering tinsel of a pleasure — which is worth nothing — the pure gold and the pearls and the diamonds and rubies drenched in the life-blood of your God-Redeemer, which are the price and the treasure of your eternity” (St. Josemaria, The Way, 708).

17-19 Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. 18 As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

• Jesus prays for the holiness of his disciples.
  • God alone is the Holy One; in his holiness people and things share. “
  • Sanctifying” has to do with consecrating and dedicating something to God, excluding it from being used for profane purposes; thus God says to Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5).
  • If something is to be consecrated to God it must be perfect, that is, holy. Hence, a consecrated person needs to have moral sanctity, needs to be practising the moral virtues.
  • Our Lord here asks for both things for his disciples, because they need them if they are to fulfil their supernatural mission in the world.
• “For their sake I consecrate myself”: these words mean that Jesus Christ, who has been burdened with the sins of men, consecrates himself to the Father through his sacrifice on the Cross. By this are all Christians sanctified:
  • “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood” (Heb 13:12).
  • So, after Christ’s death, men have been made sons of God by Baptism, sharers in the divine nature and enabled to attain the holiness to which they have been called (cf. Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 40).

COMMENTARY ON TODAY’S FIRST READING (Acts 20:28–38)
Topic: Is separation from your loved ones a painful experience for you?

After spending three years of missionary work in Ephesus, Paul bid them goodbye. When the time to say adieu to the leaders of the Church of Ephesus came, tears were shed, hugs and kisses were exchanged.
“Parting is such sweet sorrow” is what Juliet said to Romeo in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. It may be sweet sorrow if the parting is only for a few hours. But it is bitter sorrow for those who experience prolonged separation from their loved ones.
Of the 10 million plus Filipino migrants and workers, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, as of 2018, Overseas Filipino Workers comprise 2.2MM. Around 83% work in Asia, including the Middle East, 8% in Europe and 6% in the North and South America. And for many of them who have left spouse and children – the emotional toll, the loneliness, the inevitable pain brought about by separation and the possible effect on the psychological and emotional well-being of their children – is a price many are willing to pay to provide a better future for their families.
If there is anything, the mental strength and the dogged determination of Filipinos working abroad is anchored on a strong faith in an Almighty Father Who guides, Who protects and Who loves. The self-sacrifice they have is aptly echoed by Paul who quotes a saying of Jesus that did not appear in any of the four gospels. And Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive. (ACTS 20:35).” Indeed, for many OFWs, they have sacrificed of themselves for their families, and for that alone, we must salute them AND pray for them and their families daily.

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