May 17, 2026.       7th Sunday after Easter    John 17:1-11

1 After Jesus had spoken these words [to his disciples,] he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.  6 “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. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, 8 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. 9 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. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them. 11 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.”

Come Lord Jesus… I pray the Lord my soul to keep . . . Our Father who art in heaven; thus we pray to our God above and we are heard!  Amen

Jesus was surrounded by his disciples, those who have been following him, listening and watching, debating with each other, and struggling to put all they have learned into practice. Before them here Jesus launches into prayer, one he wants them to hear, as it is for their benefit. It begins: “Father, the hour has come.”  We can appreciate his meaning. Jesus has been sharing a long dissertation giving his farewell speech to these followers. It comes after they have shared the Last Supper together and before Jesus leads them out to meet his betrayer. We realize the hour, of which he speaks, is the time of his trials, suffering, humiliation and death. His concerns in this prayer go beyond those who were there, listening, and are directed toward times in the future, to an audience that knows of the resurrection, to us.

Do we hear the promises which Jesus speaks in this prayer? Jesus asserts that the Father has given him authority over all people to provide eternal life. Then he explains: And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. It is all about that relationship we have received, through which God’s love for the world is revealed. God’s intention is to draw all into God’s own eternity, to be part of it with God. We often limit eternity’s destination to that infinite time factor, starting after death, but God is concerned with life’s quality right now, not just its length stretching outward. As we have heard, we are invited to abide in Jesus; it is a life lived in His love and shown forth in our loving of one another as of NOW, not only in the hereafter. We are enabled to be engaged in our relationship with God by means of the promise Jesus has given:  “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world.” Jesus was not referring only to those disciples present with him that evening, He is talking about us, we who have been baptized in that name. We can ask for anything in the name of our God. As we involve ourselves in the calling set forth by His will and purpose, our Lord will be our support and backup, answering our prayers. So, we are given the direction we need to find the way forward in the eternal life that is ours.

Sometimes we have others who want to provide the direction they want us to go. When I was a child there was someone who liked to sweetly get me to do what they wanted. They would say “Be an angel and get me a cup of coffee.” There could be any number of ways to fill in that blank after “Be an angel and do x and so for me!” There was enough flattery in the request that it became a special treat, almost, to do their bidding. It was a misrepresentation about angels, for they are not standing around waiting to do anything we ask. When it comes to angels, it is only God who gets to say, “Be an angel!” It would then be finished with the task of delivering a particular message to the people or an individual. Scripture gives many examples of an angel following God’s direction, as God’s envoys. They had messages about Jesus’ birth. Then on Easter the angel told the women to quit wasting their time at the tomb, for Jesus was not there. Their task was to spread the message that: [Jesus is risen!] He is risen indeed! Life had conquered death, the kingdom of God had triumphed. As we bring that victory forward, we can look ahead to what can now be accomplished, no longer looking back at what was lost. Be an angel or more accurately be like the women at the tomb or the men of Emmaus and spread the good news, eternal life is ours today.

You can fulfill your personal role by the same means that was provided for the apostles mentioned in the farewell scene in the first reading. Jesus assured them: 8 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses …to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1) The Spirit is promised to assist us in the witnessing, and again none other than angels arrive to move those apostles to redirect their vision to what is to come next and stop worrying about what they do not control. When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Witness to Jesus, show his love in loving one another, live your eternal life as a true child of God. You can even be like an angel, as you pass along God’s message of hope and joy.