Gospel – John 17:20-26
“Holy Father, I pray not only for them,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
Reflection on the Gospel
Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.
The Church, the assembly of believers, contains such marvelous diversity. An abundance of languages, ethnicities, nationalities, customs, etc. are what make the Catholic Church catholic. In his words in John’s gospel, however, Jesus may be getting at something even broader.
I remember taking an informal poll of a senior class to see how many of the students actually attended a faith community on Sunday. The point was not to check up on them, but to see how much formal religious practice there was in this sample group. When I got to one young man and asked, “Did you attend church this past Sunday?” I could hear a low laughter throughout the room. The young man had a smile on his face and before he could answer, another student said, “He’s Muslim.” I simply responded, “Well, God bless you, brother! Did you attend your mosque this past weekend?” (He did.)
Could Jesus have been praying to his heavenly Father for people who are also searching for God, even if they follow other faiths or are not affiliated with a particular faith at all? Although our Catholic Christian faith gives us a privileged insight into our relationship with God, can we not approach our brothers and sisters first by what we hold in common as children of a loving God? While recognizing our differences, we can have a relationship with people of other faiths starting with what we share and what we long for together: peace, justice, the protection and prospering of our families and communities. I believe this is what the late Pope John II was aiming for, and continued by Benedict and Francis, in the gatherings they hosted in Assisi, Italy by representatives of many religious traditions.
In our good will and in our efforts we may realize “being brought into perfection as one” and to see Jesus in one another, whether that name is used in common or not.
Brother Timothy Jones, F.S.C.
The De La Salle School – Freeport, NY
Saint John Baptist de La Salle – Pray for us.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts – Forever.