THE WORD
Ac 20, 28-38 /Jn 17, 11-19
Jesus, raising his eyes to heaven, said, “And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
“I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
IN OTHER WORDS
Today’s Gospel contains the prayer of the merciful Jesus to the Father to defend and take good care of us in his behalf. But this prayer of the Lord will be completed when we do our part. That is why at the same time, the gospel reminds us that each one of us has the responsibility to believe by observing the values that Jesus taught us. As Christians, we believe in good and evil, and we always choose the good, because we believe in what is right. The first letter of St. John 4:15 tells us, “Those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them and they in God.” It is an invitation to each one of us that if we put our faith in Christ, and in His love, we are brought into the fellowship with God. If we recognize that Jesus is God, if we receive in our hearts His words and put them into practice, we can reach the fullness of life.
In today’s world that is far advanced and commercialized, many Christians have never fully committed their lives to Jesus Christ. They feel empty because they persist to have their own way of living. Many are vague and uncertain about their spiritual states; some are negligent and others are spiritually lazy. As a Christian in the modern world, what can I do to ful ll the prayer of Jesus in my life, in my family and in my community?
- Fr. Aureenhor Ian Nercua, SVD | Argentina
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
