Saturday, May 16, 2026

John 17:9-11a 

Jesus prayed: “I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.”  

Wait, now Jesus is glorified in ME?? In Elizabeth from Sioux Falls? In ALL OF US AT PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH??? 

Jesus claims all his disciples in the world in this part of his prayer. No matter what our name is, we all have the last name CHRISTIAN. We are ALL in the family! 

In his prayer, Jesus is asking God to be with us, through thick and thin, as we go about our lives in this world. Jesus openly states that not all the world follows Him. Only God can see the heart of a believer, and we can only show what we believe through our words and our actions. Jesus knows that after his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension that he will be physically present with the Father in heaven. And all those who die in the Lord will be with them in heaven. 

But what about us? Those still celebrating and slogging through life on earth? This is the crux of the prayer. Jesus walked this earth WITH the first disciples in physical form. They got to sit with Jesus, walk with him, hear him preach, see the miracles. THOSE LUCKY DUCKS!! They got to spend actually time with Jesus–to laugh, to cry, to eat supper, to ask questions. 

Jesus knows that as the generations pass, more and more people will hear of God’s love in Christ Jesus, but they will have to deal with an increasingly weird and hostile world. Think of the martyrs through the years. And think of the wars and rumors of wars that surround us today. In this passage, Jesus asks God to stay with us always. 

– Pr. Elizabeth

God, today I pray that you remember me, a small person in a small part of the world, who loves you. Be with me as I go out and about today. And let your light shine through me. Amen