"The Ones You Gave Me"

The Lord's Prayer in the Gospel of John chapter 17 has very interesting elements. In it we see how the closed circle that formed the Father and the Son, now opens to receive the chosen ones. Before, the Lord had said that no one could know the Father except the Son and to whom the Son wanted to reveal him; nor to the Son, but to the Father, and to whom the Father chose to reveal him. However, now there is a new member there: the man.

The way in which the Lord integrates man and prays for man is surprising. Actually, not for all men, but for the chosen ones. What happens with the Lord here is what will happen with the apostle Paul later. It moves from a concern for "all men" (1 Tim. 2:4) to an emphasis on "the elect" (2 Tim. 2:10). The circle closes on the chosen ones, but at the same time that of the Deity opens to receive them. They did not offer themselves to be there, but the Lord himself chose them, one by one.

Meanwhile, the world is far away; so much so that the Lord speaks of him as no longer being in the world. He is not of the world; neither are his disciples. The world has rejected him, and it will also reject his disciples. That is why he says: «I do not pray for the world». However, he sends them into the world for testimony.

The disciples ("and those who will believe in me through their word") are the preferred object of this prayer. And to refer to them he says: "those you have given me... those you gave me of the world... those you gave me", etc. In total, six times the Lord refers to his own in this way. They are the gift of the Father, his special treasure. And he cares for them, and he prays for them. He kept them so that no one would be lost. But he will no longer be with them, and for this reason he entrusts them to the Father, with indescribable tenderness, because the danger is imminent.

The circle was definitely opened to receive them. There is no longer the hermetic circle of the Father and the Son. There are now undesirable guests, but purified; vile, but dignified; sinners, but justified. And the heart of the Son beats strongly for them. But not only that of the Son, but also – we are allowed to glimpse – the very heart of the Father: "You have loved them as you have loved me".

The Lord is very happy. It seems that he forgot that the horrors of the cross are waiting for him in a few hours. It seems that he was not very aware of the danger that hangs over his life. It is they who occupy his attention, the gift that the Father has given him. He knows what he will do with them. He will raise, with infinite patience and extreme delicacy, a new being. He will build the greatest work ever done. And he, the Architect and Builder, will be eternally praised for His work.

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