Image from hisworkinprogress2.com
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, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 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. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. (John 17:1-11)
The other night Nellie and I attended our oldest granddaughter's choir program which was called JukeBox Time Machine, which allowed the kids to travel through different eras of music. One of those eras was the Sixties and the song was The Beatles' "She Loves You." I remember hearing about the Beatles, then seeing them on Ed Sullivan, and later on their first movie, "A Hard Day's Night," and the song that really hooked me was "She Loves You." As my Pakistani roommate in college said on hearing them for the first time, "They sing with such authority!" But that song made me wonder, "Who is she? Who is this girl that loves me? I want to find her soon!" Well, it didn't happen in elementary school, nor junior high, nor in high school - not even in college, nor the first years of seminary. Not until my internship year did I find the girl that The Beatles sang about. How did they know?
You may have a yearning to belong to someone, and here's today's message: You and I belong to God! If you're reading this near someone, tell them in a nice way: "You and I belong to God!" And here's the second special part of this text in John's gospel, Jesus prays for us, and in that prayer asks God to bless and protect us. And that protection that Jesus seeks for us also seeks to make us one in Jesus. That means a lot. God and Jesus are one; as you and I should be one. We know God's love. We know God's love includes those not yet in this circle of love and it is our task to go and tell and invite and bring into this circle those who need to know God's love. God will show us how, if we but ask.
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for loving and claiming us. Help us never feel alone or unwanted; for being wanted by You is greater than anybody else. Thank you for the families that love us as well as the special people in our lives. We pray as Jesus prayed, that You bless and protect them and us; make us one in You. This prayer we lift up in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Tell someone that they belong to God today!
Eradio Valverde
