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. (John 17:14-18 NABRE)
This portion of what has been called the "high priestly prayer" of Jesus (John 17), describes the Apostles as being hated by the world.* In it, Jesus asks God the Father to protect the Apostles from the evil one and to consecrate them in the truth, by which he specifically means God's Word. Jesus is asking the Father to deliver them from evil and to keep them pure by his word.
Whenever we feel the lure of this world, whenever we're attracted to something we know is not consistent with God's will, whenever we find ourselves in situations that compromise us, let us remember that God's own son prayed this prayer for us. He prayed for you and me, as much as for the Apostles. He knew the ways of the world and he knew the solution. Jesus points us to God's Word and so we should continue to read his Word every day, examining our choices in light of what we encounter in it. We should work hard to recognize the differences between real truth and what the world tells us is true.
Today, on the Seventh (and final) Sunday of Easter, I will celebrate the glory of Christ's resurrection and the power he gives us in his Spirit.
Saint Paschal Baylon, patron of shepherds who encourages us to, "Seek God above all things," , pray for us.
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