In this Sunday’s Gospel, we are in the privileged position of being able to hear the prayer that Jesus makes. Just as we pray for those things that are close to our hearts, so Jesus prays one of his final prayers for his trusted band of followers. By dedicating himself to his Father, Jesus reveals his identity for us. The glory Jesus asks for is the cross. That symbol of brutality, used by the Romans to humiliate their opponents, was to most people a sign of failure. Yet this will be for Jesus a gateway to eternal life, proving that what the world sees as defeat is really a triumph. He has taught his disciples by a life of service and love, and they have learned how to follow him. As he prepares to leave them, he places them in the hands of the Father. Now they can share in the promised eternal life.
We are told how to remain faithful to Jesus: it involves building a relationship with our loving Father. Jesus has made known to us the name of the Father. He is not the distant figure some have imagined, but one who loved us into being and awaits our turning back to him; who listens, hoping we will call him using words that his Son taught us. Jesus knows his followers are still in the world, but after the triumph of the cross they now walk in the light of the resurrection. In the prayer we hear from Jesus this Sunday, we discover his identity. Christ becomes our gateway to the Father. As we live in relationship with him and with each other, we become his adopted brothers and sisters.
We live in a world that doesn’t accept the Easter message. It is for us to proclaim to those around us that Christ is risen. We are given the strength to do this by the Spirit of Pentecost (which we will celebrate next week). We belong to a community of faith, one that gathers to share the Eucharist and to celebrate its identity. Who we are is brought home to us when we come together as God’s family. No matter what our weaknesses may be, we know that the Father is still close to us. Jesus offers us the chance of eternal life. All we have to do is call on the name he made known to us, praying in the words that he taught us.
