John 17:9-19
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Sit comfortably and breathe deeply for a few seconds before you begin. If you haven’t read the Introduction to John’s Gospel, read it here.
In today’s meditation Jesus continues to allow his followers to listen as he communicates with God the Father. Picture yourself as one of Jesus’ first disciples as you read John 17:9-19.
Jesus doesn’t pray about a world system; he prays for actual people. He prays for his followers whom he has taught and nurtured and protected and whom he is about to leave behind as his representatives. He prays that God would set them apart and keep them holy even while they are physically present in and among the corrupted world order, and he prays that God would continue the good work that he began in them.
Jesus speaks to God using a name that is found nowhere else in Scripture: “Holy Father.” This name is more than a title, it is the very person of God - the Holy God who is present to Jesus as a loving, protecting father. And now Jesus asks God the Father to be present to his followers in the same way.
Although Jesus is praying for his disciples, his suffering, death and resurrection will open the way for anyone to experience the presence of the Holy One as their loving, protecting Father.
How does this picture of God as a loving, protecting parent square with your ideas about who God is and how God feels about you? Speak directly to God about this for a moment.
Read John 17:9-19 again this time focusing on Jesus’ purpose for his disciples.
While he was physically present with them, Jesus gave his followers the most precious gift – the Word, the logos, the ultimate reason which he himself embodies - and now he will give his very life for them. He speaks to God of the purpose to which these much loved but ordinary people are called. Just as God sent Jesus, Jesus is sending them into the corrupted world order to experience and spread the glory of God, the joy of the Spirit, and the same love that exists between God the Father and Jesus the Son. These disciples, and all those who follow Jesus after them, will carry on Jesus’ mission to restore the world to shalom – to God and to God’s perfect order.
Take the last few minutes of this meditation to contemplate your own calling. Use the following questions as a guide for your conversation with Jesus about this.
How do you respond to the idea that your purpose as a follower of Jesus is to carry out the mission of Jesus?
How are you experiencing and spreading the glory of God, the joy of the Holy Spirit, and the love that exists between Jesus and God?
Is there anything you have been trying to do in your own power to accomplish Jesus mission or to make yourself holy? Can you surrender that to Jesus today?
Take a moment to sit in the presence of God the Father and receive the things Jesus requests for his disciples in his prayer: joy, protection, love and the glory of God.
If you sense the Holy Spirit inviting you to some kind of action, take a first step before you carry on with your day.
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