They are your gift to Me

At a point between Christ washing the feet of His apostles and the Last Supper, we find in the Gospel of  Saint John, Chapter 17 what is known as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. Volumes of exegeses on John 17 have been written by the Church fathers, theologians, biblical scholars and others. In his book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) devotes roughly 25 pages - all of Chapter Four - to exploring the meaning John 17. He offers a succinct, yet fascinating analysis of Christ's beautiful, moving prayer to His Father.

I am not a theologian or a biblical scholar. I rely on the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of holy Mother Church to guide me through the historical or literal interpretation, as well as the spiritual interpretation of biblical texts. This proves helpful whenever I spend time in quiet reflection on God's Word and it only enhances my understanding of its meaning for me personally. I encourage you to read John 17 and the commentary by any number of reliable sources, but for now, I wish to share my own prayerful, personal reflection, specifically of verse 24.

First of all, I love that Saint John allows us to be privy to this profoundly intimate, compelling plea to the Father from the Son. At first glance, it is obvious that Jesus is praying for His beloved apostles (Peter, Andrew, James, John and so on); however, in digging deeper we realize that Jesus is also praying for all of His disciples; for all of  His followers then and now, including us. With this in mind, the sheer depth of love reflected in six simple, yet powerful words Jesus directs to His Father, pierces this wretched, little heart of mine, shattering it to pieces.

"They are your gift to me." (John 17:24)

We, you and me, are God's gift to His Son! The season of Lent invites us and urges us to meditate extensively on Christ's Passion. Over the last several weeks, I've been participating in Lenten devotions such as praying the Stations of the Cross and the Seven Sorrows Rosary. I've been listening to audio presentations on CD, reading articles and Lenten meditations explaining the details of Christ's Passion; how He bore the unbearable weight of the guilt of all the sins of all mankind on His shoulders on His way to Calvary. And now, realizing that we are God's gift to His son, these sins - my sins, my culpability in His suffering - assume a more significant meaning. The arrows of sorrow penetrate much more deeply, knowing that I, His gift from the Father, wound Him with every sin I commit. Imagine, we - gossips, liars, ingrates, egoists, idolaters, i.e., sinners - are His gifts! "They are your gift to me."

We are His gifts because He loves us beyond our ability to comprehend. He loves us so much that He, the Creator of the universe, became one like us, taking on our sin - He who is sinless, blameless. He loves us so much that He wants more than anything for us to live with Him abundantly and forever, and so He suffered an excruciatingly painful death - He who had known no pain. He willingly, lovingly, sacrificed His life for us so that we may live.

He is our Gift from the Father.

"We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the World."