“Be good. Take care of yourself. Have fun. Mind your manners. Work hard. Be careful. Call if you need something. Remember I love you.” Those are the kind of things people say when we are leaving. We give our last-minute instructions for what others should do after we have left.
The words of Jesus in the Gospel today are called his “Farewell Discourse.” They are pretty heavy for a “good-bye.” But that is what they are. It is the night of the last supper. Jesus knows he is leaving. He knows betrayal is coming. He will soon be crucified. His disciples will scatter in fear. So why not give some last-minute instructions about how to act, what to do, how they should treat each other? That is what we might do but that is not what Jesus is doing.
In this remarkable moment Jesus is praying out loud to His Father. It is as if we are allowed to stand quietly nearby and listen to the very heart of Jesus. And for what does Jesus pray? Not success. Not power. Not escape from suffering.
He prays for relationship. He prays for glory – not worldly glory but the glory of love between the Father and the Son. And he prays for His disciples, the people entrusted to Him.
“Father, they are your gift to me.” Think about that for a moment. Jesus looks at ordinary, imperfect people – fishermen, doubters, impulsive followers – and calls them a gift. That means He looks at us the same way.
Sometimes we see only our weakness, our worries, our failures, or the divisions in our world. We look around and we might say, “Is this what I have to work with?” But Jesus sees something deeper. He sees beloved children of God. He sees people worth dying for. He sees people He wants to bring home to the Father.
That is what Jesus wants for His disciples. He wants them to live in the light of God’s presence – to see beyond fear and confusion and know that they belong to the Father. And notice something important in the Gospel. Jesus is about to leave the world physically, yet He is not abandoning His followers. He prays for them because He knows they will need strength. They will face persecution, uncertainty, and disappointment. But His prayer surrounds them like a shelter. The same is true for us!
There are moments when faith can feel difficult. Families carry heavy burdens. Communities experience division. Some people feel lonely, discouraged, uncertain about the future. At times we may even wonder whether God sees our struggles. Todays’ Gospel reminds us: Christ is with us. Over the years we have come to see that we are the Body of Christ. We are the Church. When we look around, we see sisters and brothers in the Lord. We belong to this community – we, every one of us – are the Church.
Right now, the risen Christ stands before the Father carrying our names in HIs heart. He prays for our protection. He prays for our unity. He prays that we may know the love of the Father. And that changes how we live!
If Jesus sees us as a gift, then we must begin to see one another that way too. The person sitting beside us today is not an obstacle or a stranger. They are someone Christ loves deeply. In a divided world, Christians are called to reflect the unity Jesus prays for this Gospel.
One small act of kindness, one word of encouragement, one moment of forgiveness – these become signs that Christ is alive among us. As we continue this Easter season and move toward Pentecost, perhaps we can carry one simple thought into the week ahead:
Jesus prays for me.
Jesus walks with me.
Jesus calls me a gift.
And if we honestly believe that then the steepest trails of life can lead us into the light of God’s love.