RBWords

     The Farewell Discourse has one more major part which begins today.  This part is called the "High Priestly Prayer of Jesus."  I have used the analogy of a symphony to describe the entire Gospel of John.  The prayer that makes up this chapter of John is, in itself, more like one of those complicated polyphonic pieces of Renaissance music by Palestrina.  The sounds and words seem to spiral and double back on one another.  It is difficult to pick one theme and follow it because the themes overlay one another and impact one another.

       In this prayer Jesus prays for the disciples and, by extension, for all those who believe in him.  I find it startling to think that God would pray for me!  Shouldn't it be the other way around?  At this point, however, Jesus is still with the disciples at the Last Supper and he is addressing his Father on behalf of them.  His prayer tells us that "eternal life" is not only something that is yet to come, but that our faith in him is the beginning of that eternal life that we hope to have after death.  This teaching is a major theme of the entire Gospel of John, beginning with the "Prologue."  Over the next three days, we will encounter other themes that have been present in the Gospel and are echoed in this final prayer.  Stay tuned!   AMEN