In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus is praying for his little family which he’s about to leave. Not only is he praying for them, but he’s praying for us too:
“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.”
This is Jesus’ great prayer for his followers, that we become a family as tight with one another as he is with his dad. I’ll admit, that’s a pretty tall order. From the very first Christians have had some family dysfunction. Our egos and jealousies have made it hard for us to sit down together at the Thanksgiving dinner table and rejoice as siblings should. We love to bicker over details about what is Catholic and the nature of sin and the right way to worship. We’re all set to be martyrs for our own opinions and burn heretics at the stake for disagreeing with us. Let’s just face it: being a family is hard.
I think what Jesus was trying to do on that night in which he had his last supper with this little family was give them a master class on how to be the Church. He got down on hands and knees and washed their feet, demonstrating how we are to be present to help and serve each other. Then he prayed for them like a parent would pray for his or her children, asking God to keep them safe and help them get along.
Jesus is praying for us. He’s asking that God’s love would be in us so we can love one another. Maybe the best way to access this love is to be in regular and disciplined prayer for one another. I think there is something amazingly comforting in knowing that another is actively, lovingly praying for you. The Sonshine prayer list invites you to pray for people who need God’s help. Like Shanna, a shelter animal coordinator who is facing a diagnosis of cancer. Perhaps our daily routine should be spending a few minutes each morning in intercessory prayer for someone whom the Holy Spirit is putting on your heart. If you’re praying for that person, you might then want to reach out and contact them. Who knows? Your connection might be just the thing someone else needs at this very moment.
Lord, I pray daily for all my Sonshine Friends who Christian legends tell us the first disciples were swept by the Holy Spirit to distant lands from which they never returned. They didn’t have Facebook or Instagram or smart phones to keep up with each other. But I’ll bet they prayed for one another all the same.
