Eavesdropping on Jesus’ Prayer

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

One way to read the Farewell Discourse of St. John's Gospel is to read it as a Last Will and Testament. Obviously, Jesus didn't leave any earthly possessions behind to bequeath to his family. What he did leave behind is worth far more than earthly wealth.

We have reached the part of the Farewell Discourse that records Jesus in conversation/prayer with his Father. It is hard to imagine anything more intimate. Think of your own prayer, of your own attempts to enter into a dialogue with God. Most of us do not speak out loud in such situations. Yet John has recorded this prayer.

Compared to our own prayer, Jesus prayer is remarkable in that it focuses attention on his followers. Jesus desire is that we should come to know the Father as well as he knows the Father. While we readily acknowledge that such knowledge is beyond our grasp, I am overwhelmed at the notion that this is what Jesus bequeaths to me.

Jesus has also given me the means to attain such a relationship in the person of the Holy Spirit. My relationship with God depends upon my willingness to "be forgiven." There is no question about God's willingness to forgive. However, if I do not ask to be forgiven, my relationship with God will remain broken. The Holy Spirit has been given to me to bring about that reconciliation.

My relationship with God also depends upon my willingness to obey the commandments. Obedience is perhaps the most difficult of all. Human beings, blessed with a free will, are often tempted to exercise that will by following the promptings of the world rather than those of the Holy Spirit. It is common to refer to these promptings as one's conscience. However, we often forget that the conscience is given to us not to create God's Law but to determine how we can conform to God's Law. To disobey and to chalk it up to "my conscience" is an abuse of this gift of the Holy Spirit.

As we continue to read Jesus' innermost thoughts, let us remember that in these words we will find the path to eternal life, a share in Christ's glory.