John 17:10-13
"They'll continue in the world while I return to you. Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life that you conferred as a gift through me. So they can be one heart and mind as we are one heart and mind....Now I'm returning to you. I'm saying these things in the world's hearing so my people can experience my joy completed in them." (The Message, vs. 11, 13)
I envision Jesus ready to leave all his disciples at college or perhaps their graduation. He has taught them all he can. He has watched over them much as a parent. He has protected them from the sins of the world. Now it is time to let go...and leave them in God's care. But God and Jesus are one. So, perhaps the prayer, as verse 13 suggests, is really more for the disciples' benefit than a petition to God. Jesus wants to assure them he will continue to 'be in touch' even though he won't physically be present. One in me, one in God, one in each other. Another image pops into my mind. The mother eagle is preparing to shove the eaglets out of the nest. Their learning is over. The prayer of the mother Jesus is they have learned their lessons well and will soar - safe and lifted high by the love and power of God the Father, Christ the Son, and the breath of the Holy Spirit.
How willing am I to leap from the nest? Have I received my diploma? Am I 'one in Christ' enough to feel that safety net below?
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