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. (John 17:13-16 NABRE)
Continuing the "high priestly prayer," Jesus here calls to the Father on behalf of his friends. He knows he is about to leave them. He knows that soon he will be returning home to his Father.
Consider some of the ways people say goodbye to their friends when they will be leaving them. Imagine a soldier calling home to make arrangements just before returning from the battlefront...he or she might ask for a favor on behalf of those who will stay behind--a message to family for example. Imagine a daughter on vacation with friends calling home before her return flight...in a similar way, she might ask that a message be sent along to her friends' families on their behalf.
There are many ways we say goodbye. And when we do say goodbye, there are many hopeful sentiments for prosperity, reunion, and new possibilities. When Jesus was preparing to leave his friends, he turned to the Father and asked for protection for them knowing they would continue to struggle without him in this world. Today, we share in that struggle and we share in the request Jesus made to the Father.
May we find God's protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil so that we, like Jesus, may endure the trials of this world, confident in the Father's love and presence in the Spirit. And may we seek first the joy Jesus promises to those who belong to him.
Today, on this Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter, I will pray day six of the Novena to the Holy Spirit.
Saint Ignatius of Laconi, whose life reminds us that everything God considers worthwhile does not have a high-paying salary attached to it, pray for us.
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