Safe Haven

 Now Jesus prays for us, because we are the ones who have heard his message through his apostles. Jesus prays that we would be united to the apostles, and to one another, through his saving message. He prays that we would be united in the same way that he is united to the Father, and in the way that both the Father and the Son are united with the Holy Spirit. This is a mystery of deep prayer and contemplation, because he is inviting us to be in the fellowship of God Himself. Even this has a purpose beyond the enjoyment of it, because it will prove that the Father has sent the Son, and loved us to the end through him. There is another mystery here, in the fact that Jesus wants to share the glory of God with us. We don't by nature have the ability to participate in the glory of God, or to share fellowship with Him. God has given us the grace to be friends with him, to be supernatural people. Jesus prays for the apostles to receive the gift of heaven. Heaven will be the place of seein...

 Jesus says that he has made the Father's name known to his apostles, and he says that the Father gave the apostles to him. Jesus also says that the apostles believed what he shared with them, which is probably a generous interpretation of what the apostles said and did. Then again, when God writes our story, he is often more generous to us than we would be to ourselves. Jesus says that everything he has is from the Father, which is what you would expect the obedient Son to say. Jesus also says that all the words he spoke were the words the Father gave him to say. Maybe what we could say is that the apostles had to believe fully in Jesus before Jesus could honestly pray this prayer. There may be many gifts that the Father intends to give us, but we are not yet ready to receive them. Jesus is praying for his apostles, which is truly an amazing thing, and is a great mystery, because true prayer takes humility. And the mystery is that the glorious Son of God would humble himself at al...

 When Jesus had finished saying what we have recorded in chapter 16, he began to pray. Jesus is a prophet and the true King of Israel, but he is also the true high priest of the new covenant. This is the prayer that Jesus prays for the apostles, and for all of us. Priests offer prayers and sacrifices to God, and Jesus doesn't see a reason to change what we would expect. He asks the Father to glorify him, so that he may in turn glorify the Father. Jesus tells us through his prayer that receiving eternal life is a matter of believing in the one true God, and in him, whom the Father sent. We see once more that Jesus considers himself to be fundamentally the one who was sent by the Father. What is Jesus praying for, if God has no needs, and God has glory in Himself? Jesus wants the glory of God the Father to be seen in this world. If the goal of our lives is to be in relationship with God forever, then a life well lived will show this glory, the same glory that Jesus is praying for. He...

 There are a lot of different reasons why Jesus would speak in "figures" as he calls them. One is the mysterious plan of the Father, which could include God's knowledge of who would accept him, and why. In various ways, Jesus has taught them about not wasting their breath, or throwing pearls before swine, as it says in another place. Using metaphors also keeps the enemies of Jesus off-balance just a bit, until it is time for the Cross and Jerusalem. But now among his most intimate friends, Jesus makes everything clear. The things he says are not new; he has said that he is going to the Father before, but they didn't understand. Maybe St. John's purpose in this passage is to tell us that this is the moment when they understood what Jesus was saying. Jesus says that they're going to be scattered, and that they will have trial and tribulation. He tells them that they will abandon him, but that he will rely on his relationship with the Father. Jesus tells them and...