Gospel reading: Jn 17:20-26
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “I pray not only for these, 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.”
THE GLORY YOU GAVE ME
The word “glory” comes from the Hebrew kabod that literally means “heavy” or “illustrious.” It refers to the divine character and the radiant glory of God. God as God possesses glory. When we give glory to God, we are not supplying or adding to God’s glory; we are acknowledging what really is God’s. We are joining the heavenly beings in proclaiming God’s glory: “Glory to God in the highest…”
Jesus shares God’s glory by virtue of his being the Word/ Logos with God in the beginning. God gives or shares the divine glory with him because the Word, the only Son, is God (cf Jn 1:18). But when the Word becomes flesh, this glory is hidden in his humanity. In the words of Paul, the Word “emptied himself” of this glory (cf Phil 2:7). But the glory, though hidden in the eyes of human beings, is part of Jesus’ being as the Word-Incarnate.
In his passion, death, and resurrection, God’s Son will be glorified anew. Rising from the dead, Jesus will be manifested as sharing divine glory. Though keeping his humanity, this humanity is now glorified. Because he was a man like us in all things, Jesus now in heaven is our merciful High Priest interceding for us.
How do you glorify the Lord Jesus in your life?
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SOURCE: “366 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
