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Seventh Sunday of Easter Jn. 17/1-11 |
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| Background: Today’s passage is part
of what is often called Jesus’s “priestly prayer” because he is picture as
praying for his apostles, the first priests. While it is legitimate to see the prayer in
this fashion, it is a narrow interpretation, much too narrow for John’s intent which
was to reassure all those in the community for which he was writing and not only its
leaders. The apostles in this story represent the whole community, everyone who is
embraced by the love of Jesus and therefore by the love of God. Jesus prays to the Father
to take care of each one of his followers, to protect them from evil, to perfect them in
goodness, to promote their growth in grace. The Irish blessing summarizes exactly the
meaning of this prayer: “Until we meet again, may God hold you all in the palm of his
hand.” |
read the padre |
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Story: Once upon a time a great
coach was retiring. He and his teams had won many championships. He was very proud of them
and they very proud of him. He knew that it was time for him to pull back from the daily
grind of practices and the frequent strain and tension of the games. He was fraying around
the edges and he knew it. So did the smarter players but they loved him so much that
they would not admit this even to themselves. He did not want to leave the school or
give up the sport, not yet anyway. So it was agreed that he would become athletic director
and his best assistant would become the coach. He promised that he would never interfere
in the daily running of the team. Since he was a man of his word, everyone knew that he
was telling the truth. Yet there was terrible ambivalence in the team. On the one hand
they were glad the coach was doing what was good for him. On the other they didn’t
want to lose him, not even the man who was going to take over as head coach. The old coach
would still be around, but in the background. It would never be like it used to be, like
it had been for such a long time. At his farewell dinner, the players, the coaches,
the teachers, the parents were all deeply moved. They did not want to say goodbye, yet
they knew the change would be good and that it was wise to say goodbye. In his farewell
speech the coach commended his players to the new coach. Take good care of them, he said.
I know you will and I promise not to interfere, but take good care of them because I love
them all. This is now Jesus felt about us when he said goodbye to return to the father in
heaven. More important, that is the way he still feels about us and he has a lot more
power than an athletic director
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