Lenten Devotion (Evening) for Thursday 21 April 2011 Anno Domini

Lenten Devotion (Evening) for Thursday 21 April 2011 Anno Domini
1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:1-26)
Covering this beautiful prayer of our Lord in one short devotion, I must admit, is a rather daunting undertaking. Its rich expression and majesty of meaning is expressive on a level far above that of mankind to communicate. But I shall do my best.

The prayer, to which popular reference is made as the ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ found in Matthew 6:9-13 should more properly be called the disciples’ (or Apostles’) prayer, for it is the kind of prayer Christ has instructed us to make as a model for all our prayers. Moreover, that prayer is a ‘communal’ prayer. It begins with ‘Our Father’ and not ‘My Father.’ The prayer of the lectionary text today is more properly the Lord’s Prayer because it is the kind of prayer that could only have been uttered by Christ and none other. He is about to suffer a most hateful death, yet He asks the Father to keep from evil and to sanctify those whom the Father has placed in His hand; and not them only, but all who, by the Grace of God, may believe, in future times, the testimony of the Apostles.

There is an amazing preponderance of love expressed by Christ in this prayer – love for the Father, but also an incredible love for those who have believed His Word and WILL believe His Word. The love of Christ for us is not confined to His own Heart, but also is manifested in the Heart of the Father. “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.” To know Christ is to know the Father. To love Christ is to love the Father. To be known and loved by Christ is to be known and loved by the Father for they are One without division of love and knowledge.

“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.” If we belong to Christ it is because the Father has drawn us and placed us in His Hand. He chose us – we did not choose Him! Judas was never, in fact, chosen. Being the ‘son of perdition’, his soul was eternally damned. He was never called nor chosen to be in the kingdom. He was chosen with the full knowledge of Christ that He was a devil in order that all things might be fullfilled. (John 6:70). Each of us, being called and chosen, is set apart (or anointed) by God to fulfill His will in our lives. We must be diligent to discover that calling and be actively seeking to perform His purpose. Unfortunately, Judas had a black heart which was never a friend of Christ.

“As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” Christ sends us into the world in the same way that the Father sent His Son. This is a sobering truth. How much like Christ are we to the world? Are we compassionate to the wretched sinner in seeking his amendment and salvation? Do we abhor false prophets and the hypocrisy of ministers in search of filthy lucre? Do we love, above all else, Truth?

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Just as surely is God’s Word involved in judgment is it involved with sanctification. The truth is a purifier of hearts and a revealer of sin. His Word is truth and there are no other words of men which can compare. Truth will set us free, or condemn us.

“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” Even though there were eight souls and a conglomeration of animal life on the Ark, still it is referred to as the Ark – not the Ark with each creature aboard. When we are in Christ, we are likewise ONE with Him and, if ONE with Him, then ONE with the Father. This is such grace that we can be privileged to be one with the Father and the Son.

Time will not permit a fair study of this Lord’s Prayer in the context of a devotion, but its beauty is beyond measure even if time were available. Consider the great and profound Words of Christ in this prayer and ask you soul, “Am I striving to live up to the expectations which Christ has measured to me?”