Monday, May 11

John 17:1 

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you.” 

This week we are preparing for the end of the Easter season and the beginning of a new season of ordinary time, the Sundays after Pentecost–which stretch all the way to November. We have several lesser holidays to wrap up the celebration: This Thursday (50 days after Easter) is Ascension, May 24 is Pentecost, and May 31 is Trinity! As Jesus prepares for the cross, he speaks what we call “The High Priestly Prayer” over his disciples; we always focus on this prayer as we turn from Easter to the ordinary days. 

The word of the week is GLORIFY (doxazo in Greek), which means a whole constellation of words including magnify, extol, praise, acknowledge, and ascribe honor. The word is used almost exclusively toward God and in a worshipful context. On Sunday, I will be preaching about what it means to worship, to praise, and to glorify God. 

We see the word GLORIFY twice in the first verse. Jesus begins his prayer for the disciples by calling on his heavenly Father as an equal in the Trinity–something that would have shocked the Twelve. Jesus is saying that He glorifies God and God glorifies Him! The disciples are hearing that Jesus and God are both to be worshiped–that the Father has elevated the Son as God! But Jesus knows what the glory will call him to–death on a cross. 

Jesus knows the whole story, the rest of the story. His wisdom, maturation, and obedience allows him to pray the prayer we will study this week over the confused, young, and green disciples. 

When in your life have you known more than others around you? I remember when my mother was dying I understood what the doctor was saying about my mother’s brain activity about two days before my brother, Ted, could grasp it. She was on life support and we were asked to make a decision; I was ready faster than Ted. So we left things the way they were in the hospital so my brother could catch up and prepare himself for Mom's death. 

Patience is difficult, especially when we want to rush ahead to what is next. But not everyone around us is in the same place. Where can you exercise patience with someone in your life this week? 

– Pr. Elizabeth

God, Jesus could see what lay ahead for his disciples and he prayed for them. I, too, can sometimes see further down the road than my family or friends. Help me to be patient and allow them to grow in their own understanding. Amen