Today is the 21st day of Lent, a 40 day season of spiritual reflection, repentance, and renewal. During these 40 days we’ll explore the prayer life of Jesus, walking chronologically through every mention of Jesus’ prayer life and prayers in the Gospels.
Here is today’s prayer event: 1When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. (John 17:1-8 ESV)
Here, Jesus prays, “The hour has come.” In other words, “It’s time to die.” It is the darkest moment of Jesus’ life to-date. “It’s time to die.”
Yet rather than pray a lament or complaint, which would be well-deserved, Jesus offers a prayer of confidence: “Glorify me with glory.”
“Glory” and “glorify” are important words in John. They are found 14 times in the first 11 chapters and 19 more times in the Gospel’s concluding chapters. They are used 10 times in this prayer.
Here, the words carry two possibilities. First, Jesus may be praying for God to exalt him. Just as his death on the cross will be inglorious, so he prays for God to follow that death with a glorious resurrection. He prays for God to exalt him
Second, Jesus may be praying for God to reveal himself through the death. In the Old Testament, God’s glory is his visible manifestation (e.g., Ex. 16:7,10). Jesus may be praying that through the crucifixion and resurrection, God will reveal himself.
Both possibilities point in the same direction: Jesus prays that through this painful time, God will bring the best from the bad; God will bring triumph from tragedy; God will let the Story end spectacularly.
The word “glory” carried then as it does now the hint of light. Something that is glorious is something that is full of light. Jesus prays that out of this darkness, God will bring light.
Consider a painful time in your life. Pray for God to bring triumph where you see only tragedy. Pray for God to bring the best from the bad. Pray for the Story to end spectacularly. Pray for God to bring light from the darkness.
SHARE A TIME IN WHICH GOD BROUGHT LIGHT FROM DARKNESS, TRIUMPH FROM TRAGEDY…
[image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilikefish/504718961/]
I guess we all have been busy this week, as there haven’t been many comments. I want to write about when my mom died, 16 years ago in 1994. She had chronic health problems, which culminated in a double-lung transplant in 1993. She had a few good months after her recovery, but her body ultimately rejected the new organs. She was in Rochester, New York, and I was in Searcy, AR. At the time I was 22 and my brother was 20; as her next-of-kin, we were in charge of all the important decisions.
This was definitely one of the darkest times of my life. My mom and I had just started getting along in a “grown up” kind of way, after years of butting heads. She never really accepted my getting married at 18. The last time I spoke to her was on Mother’s Day. We had a disagreement, but closed the conversation on a positive note. I had no idea how sick she was, but later that night she went into the hospital for the last time. By Tuesday morning I was on a plane, and she died May 21, about a week later. Did I mention it was during semester exams?
I could give you all the details, but I know you don’t have all day. What you really want to know is, So what? People died every day, and tragic though it is, how was God glorified in her death? First of all, my faith has increased in leaps and bounds because of this loss. For a while I could do nothing on my own strength, but relied totally on the Lord to get me through all the funeral arrangements, terrible scenes with my mom’s boyfriend, who resented us for every decision we made, having to take all my exams when I returned to Harding, and coping with the yawning emptiness where my mom used to be. I had so many comforting dreams about her in those first few months, and I would often “see” her, or, more accurately, feel her presence, nearby especially when I saw a beautiful sunset or was in worship. Over the years I have often keenly felt her absence, when my brother got married in 1996, when our children were born, sometimes when other people talk about their mothers… but I am at peace because I have no doubt that when I am made complete at the end of my life, I will see her again in some form.
I also know that my brother and I would probably not have the relationship we have today without this shared loss. We are polar opposites in ideology, temperament, you name it. But going through this experience linked us together emotionally and we have both made a commitment to stay connected, as we are really all the close family each other has. My brother and his wife are not “church goers”, but I know that through me God is slowly working on my brother’s heart as well.
So thank you for reading to the bottom of my lengthy post. I guess my one long one makes up for everyone else. 🙂
God was definitely glorified, Cathlyn. He is glorified in the retelling too. Thank you for sharing.
I have not experienced the death of my own immediate family yet. But I have experinced the loss of my mother-in-law in 2003. We had just moved to Memphis in 2001 so I could attend Harding Grad and shortly after the move we found out Michele’s was diagnosed with terminal cancer. God somehow saw us through this dark time. I still miss Ann. I had the best Mother-in-law a man could ever have. She was totally dedicated to her grandchilrden and had a way about her that made us all feel special. Her death forced me to grow up in a way as well, for any time I would get really upset with Michele I’d call her mother and bend her ear and Ann would “straighten her out.” I have since learned this was not good. And we have learned to communicate better as a result of the loss. God is amazing how he works. Sometimes it takes reflection YEARS later to realize that.
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