Reflection on John 17: 1-11

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

The entire Gospel of John 17 is the most extensive and profound recorded prayer of Jesus. The whole chapter is his prayer for his early disciples and for those who would believe in him through their work of preaching. Jesus said the prayer at the conclusion of the Last Supper with his disciples. So, in a sense it is a farewell speech primarily addressed to his Father and only secondarily to his disciples. Although it is a prayer, it also contains within it Jesus’ theology of death: Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son…, his soteriology (theology of salvation): Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the One whom you sent, Jesus Christ. If the disciples were attentive, not distracted by the impending events, or by family issues or by what becomes of them after their Master leaves, they would have heard Jesus state once again what their mission would be and what they ought to be doing after his death: As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world (17:18). 

Soteriology is an entire semester course in any Catholic theological institute, as such, it is not something that we can exhaust in a few minutes sermon. But after all is said and written about salvation, we all know it is centered on these words of the Lord: Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ (17:3). In those words Jesus clearly states that his Father is the only true God, and he Jesus, the only Redeemer of humanity. The God of Jesus Christ is not one God among many. Any other gods are counterfeits and products of human imaginations. To know this God does not mean to know about him. It is not to have the greatest intellectual grasp of God that anyone is capable of having. It is rather to know him by experience. To know God or Jesus Christ is to develop an intimate personal relationship with the Father and the Son, and of course, with the Holy Spirit. So, eternal life means being in an ongoing relationship with God, knowing him as two people who are profoundly in love know each other. Entering into union with God means sharing in his life, and that is what it means to have eternal life. 

What else is salvation apart from a living relationship with God? Although this relationship was first initiated and sustained by God, but we must do our bit. We must continue to grow in faith in God, continue to deepen our love for Jesus Christ and continue to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. And how do we accomplish this? By doing what John 17 tells us that Jesus did— prayer. It was our Founder, St. Alphonsus who once said, “If you pray, you will certainly be saved; if you do not pray, you will certainly be damned.” Prayer, more than any other activity links, connects and wires us directly to God. In prayer, we discover God and discover ourselves. Prayer tells us the truth about ourselves and reveals to us how much we need God. Remember to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.