John 17:11-12: Unfolding Our Story
Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019
When Jesus prays for his disciples, he speaks to a loving parent as if reporting in on a project.
I spelled out your character in detail
To the men and women you gave me.
They were yours in the first place;
Then you gave them to me,
And they have now done what you said.
Jesus speaks not only to this loving parent but to us today as he says,
They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
That everything you gave me is firsthand from you,
For the message you gave me, I gave them;
And they took it, and were convinced
That I came from you.
They believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
Jesus continues to speak to his loving parent,
I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world
But for those you gave me,
For they are yours by right.
Everything mine is yours, and yours mine,
And my life is on display in them.
For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world;
They’ll continue in the world
While I return to you.
Jesus prepares for his exodus to the resurrected life and as he does, he prepares us for our own exodus.
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.
As long as I was with them, I guarded them
In the pursuit of the life you gave through me;
I even posted a night watch.
And not one of them got away,
Except for the rebel bent on destruction
(the exception that proved the rule of Scripture).
On this Ash Wednesday, when we consider that we are beautiful dust from a great star collision millennia ago, we remember that Jesus takes us with him on his great exodus to new life.
On this day when we remember that God is an ever-patient, always giving parent, we remember that the Spirit abides with us every step of our journey.
On this day when we remember that we are dust, we also remember that this glorious ash unfolds our hearts to pull us together in one great union with Christ.
On this day, we remember, and we celebrate this great blossoming gift of eternal love.
Listen to Steven Curtis Chapman’s Glorious Unfolding at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKMjEvF2Fkw
Images from: https://www.stpaulsf.org/96 and http://stevencurtischapman.com/
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