A reflection on John 17:20-26 and Ephesians 1:3-6
Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year C)
©️2022 by Gloria M. Chang
“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”
John 17:20-26
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6
Love has no beginning but made all things come to be.
Abba, God, before all worlds, called us to unity.
What is the essence of ultimate reality? Apart from revelation, philosophers have posited God, Being, One, Love, the Tao, and other transcendent principles. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, reveals that the absolute “One” is also “Three”—a communion of Love. God, Being, One, Love, and the Tao is ultimately Three Divine Persons revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The God who is Love (1 John 4:8) reveals his face in Jesus Christ: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
As the Son is loved by the Father “before the foundation of the world,” each of his brothers and sisters is chosen and loved by the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish… for the praise of the glory of his grace.” Our “history” begins before and beyond the concepts of time and eternity in the uncreated love of the Most Holy Trinity.
Such a revelation stops the mind in wonder.
He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you…
1 Peter 1:20
Dear GMC, What a beautiful reflection to wake up to. It helps us wonder at and ponder the breadth and depth of Christ’s love for us. Add a morning cup of coffee and there is nothing better in the morning then praying with your reflections. Thank you, GMC.🐌☕️🙏🥰
“Let me hear in the morning of thy steadfast love, for in thee I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go, for to thee I lift up my soul.”
Psalm 143:8 (RSV) 🐌☀️🌹