Sevent Sunday of Easter , Year B Joh 17,6,11-19

For today’s address, I was inspired by the address of my favorite author, William Bausch. Allow me to interpret his thoughts in a free “transcript,” which appealed to me and inspired me. I hope they will be equally inspiring for you. In the Gospel, we hear how Jesus prays. Even though we thought about prayer last Sunday, let’s think about it again. There’s always little to think about. Today, we’ll notice what Jesus is praying for. His prayer could be a model for our prayers as well. He prays for three things, namely, 1) that God may protect and preserve his disciples, 2) that he may be holy so that they too may be holy.

This evening, before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for his disciples: “Holy Father,” Jesus calls, “keep them…” He knew his disciples would need this prayer very much in the coming days. He knew the cost of being his disciples would be high for them in those early days. He knew there would be days when their lives would be in danger. He knew there would be times when they would be tempted to escape. And that is why he prays for them. But notice that he does not pray that they may be freed from these troubles but may be vital. He prayed not for escape – no one can escape the trials of life – but for victory. He prayed, “I’m not asking you to take them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One.”

In his book The Lion’s Den: A Seven-Year Memoir, the writer Terry Anderson tells how he once fell into captivity in Beirut. He spent seven full years there. He mentions that during these years, he became powerful thanks to prayer, although he was a lukewarm Catholic. About a month after he and his companions were captured, they were allowed to have Bibles, and so he read this Bible repeatedly. He was especially impressed by the apostle Paul, who struggled with his weakness, imprisonment, and pride, just like him. Paul’s struggles helped him feel and express his love for God. His only prayer was for patience and strength to endure whatever comes. It was the same prayer that Jesus prayed for at the Last Supper. He did not escape from it: his prayers and the prayers of Jesus. Jesus also prayed for him at the Last Supper. This story asks: Who in your life needs to become strong? Who do you need to pray for, not so that sufferings will leave his life, but that he will become strong enough to overcome them? You may even remember by name those who could belong here.

 The first thing Jesus prayed for was for his disciples to become strong. The second was for his disciples to be united: “…that they may be one, as we are!” A man named Tony Campolo tells this story. He once attended a church service where a man prayed aloud for his friend. “Dear Lord,” he says, “you know Charlie Stolzfus. He lives in that gray house, about one and a half kilometers down the road. He lives with his wife and children. Please do something to bring this family back together.” The man repeated it repeatedly when his friend Charlie lived with his family: “He lives in that gray house about a mile down the road, God!” Tony was slightly annoyed and tempted to say, “That’s enough for the panayan. What do you think God needs you to explain his address twice?” When the service ended, Tony got into his car and drove home.

When he got on the highway, he suddenly saw a hitchhiker. He picked him up. They introduced themselves: “I’m Tony Campolo, and you?” “My name is Charlie Stolzfus,“ says the hitchhiker. Tony was scalded. He was the exact man that person had been praying for in church a moment ago. “Where are we going?“ asks the driver. He muttered something, but Tony didn’t listen. He decided to get off the highway at the next turn and drive him home. “Where are you going?!“ asks the man when he sees that the driver has turned off the highway. “I’m going to take you home,“ Campolo tells him. The hitchhiker was very surprised when they stopped in front of his house without explaining where he lived. That day, when Tony told them the whole story, mainly about their friend’s prayer for them, Charlie and his wife got back together and rededicated themselves to each other, their family, and God. They met not only because their friend prayed for them but because Jesus also prayed for them at the last supper: “That they may be one as we are!“ Who in your life needs to be united? Who has become estranged from himself or someone or something important: your family, your profession, God? Remember his name in silence.

 The third thing that Jesus prayed for at the Last Supper was not for his disciples this time but for himself. And that is something significant. Jesus prays: “…and for their sake, I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in the truth.“ The word “sanctified“ means to become holy. And so, what Jesus is praying for now is this: “I want to walk the path of holiness so that my disciples also walk the path of holiness.“ He knew that there was no other way. He must be rooted in virtue and truth if his disciples are supposed to be like that, and so are we. It’s straightforward and logical for us. If we have the role that Jesus has, it means that we want others to be good; we must become saints; first of all, if we wish our friends, our family, and our colleagues to become saints, we must be saints, too! in his autobiography Booker T. Washington: “The older I get, the more convinced I am that while the education and training I receive from books and many courses, schools, and programs are significant, none compares to what we can receive from contact with great people.”

And so there is no other way to take root and establish myself in virtue and holiness than to have contact with holy people. Sanctify yourselves in the truth. Be holy. The actor Jimmy Steward once wrote an interesting thing in a magazine: that the center of his world when he was a small boy was the hardware and home improvement store that his family owned, but most of all, the man who ran the store, his father. He says that throughout his life, his father has greatly influenced him. One example is the episode where Jimmy leaves home during World War II to fight in Europe and says goodbye to those closest to him before he leaves and boards a warship. Among other things, his father gave him a letter at farewell, which he was to read only on the ship. It read: “Jim, my dear boy. When you read these lines, you will already be on your way to the most dangerous stage of your life… I am attaching the text of Psalm 91.

This psalm is very powerful for me. It will be of great help to you as well. The promise of his words will protect you from fear and anxiety… I cannot tell you more… Jimmy; I love you more than I can express. Your father.“ What were those words? “…The Lord is your refuge; you have chosen the Most High as your protector. No calamity will befall you if calamity does not approach your tent, for he will give his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways…“ His father was holy, sanctified in the truth, and devoted to the truth so that his son would also be blessed and cleansed so that he would have values ​​and certainties. This follows because Jesus’ prayer is deep and is a role model for us. Pray for those who are near and dear: first, they may be strong, then they may be united. Above all, pray for yourself, as we said last Sunday: that you may be holy so that those around you may also be holy.