Seventh Sunday of Easter

Bottom Line Spirituality: Worldly and Godly Thinking

Click here to go to the Bottom Line Meditations for the Seventh Sunday of Easter

Godly Abiding Spiritually in Jesus Changes the Meaning of What we See Worldly When Not Abiding in Jesus.

Spirituality is our innate ability to feel the difference worldly or godly thinking makes to the way scripture translates to our daily life and relationships.

John 17:20-26 The Mystery of the Lord's Prayer

SPIRITUALITY CHANGES OUR LIFE

We try to change our worldly life to feel God’s Presence.

Godly feeling His Presence changes our life.

We try to become people of prayer to feel the Presence of Jesus.

In consciously feeling the Presence of Jesus in us we become prayer people.

The rational read the scripture to understand the meaning.

The conscious understands the meaning to read the scripture.

Rationally, this prayer is the Mother Lode. It is filled with golden nuggets. It would take a theologian a life time to mine the nuggets and still they would not have come near the finish. It is really loaded.

Spiritually it raises some real questions. Who wrote it? Jesus never wrote anything. He did not intend to have people memorize His teachings. He was teaching how to do it not what to do. When one realizes how to do it they do not need to know what to do. The Wisdom would come from being in the Presence.

Jesus took all the laws in the Bible and made them into one, to do the loving thing. Rather than having to have a New Covenant Book He gave us the Eucharist. We do not have to have anyone teach of what to do. We find it from abiding in the Peace Presence of Jesus. 

Who wrote the prayer is the question? If Jesus did not write it where did it come from? It came from John but how did he get it?

There are several times Jesus goes away from the apostles to pray for them: the times of the forty days in the Wilderness through the time after His first major ministry to the time of John the Baptist’s death. He sought the quiet time with God alone. There is no evidence He ever told the others what He prayed for. Neither did they ever hear Him pray. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane His prayers were so intent that drops of blood burst forth from His forehead. Still they went to sleep and didn’t here much except “Father if this cup can pass yet not my will but thy will be done.” The mystery is, how did John get such a long and deep prayer if Jesus did not share it? It was His custom not to and as the apostles did not hear it and even if they did they would have had to take notes line by line.

Where did it come from? There can be many theories. Here is mine.

Jesus, during his time with the apostles, told them what He was praying for. John the beloved took some notes. Rather than put them down one at a time and rather than just say this is what He was telling us He was praying for, he included them in one long prayer. The reason for this was Jesus was praying to God. His prayers were powerful...  They were not just for the time. They were prayers from the Heart of Jesus poured into the Heart of God.

So what do we have here? First of all, what do we not have here? We do not have Jesus’ personal prayer to the Father in front of His Apostles while they took notes. That never happened. What could we have here? We have a prayer chain. When you pray for someone you generally want to encourage their Spirit by telling them you are praying for them. This is The Son of God praying to the Father for you.  It a list of the prayers Jesus prayed during His ministry.  John wrote down the ones he could remember. They were not one liners prayed once. They were from the heart, earnest and continuing prayers. “That they all may be one as We are one” can be for different people at different times for different reasons. In a prayer chain we have the names of people we are praying for.  In this Jesus prayer, your name and mine are on one of them. Start praying this prayer each day. Do not pray through it. Pray to it! Pray it with your name on the one liner. Then stop and stay with it until it comes true. Then start at the beginning and do it again.

The prayers were not for the moment they are the prayers of Jesus for now and forever into time. We do not read the pray for the theology. We need to read the prayer for us. Which is the prayer that Jesus is offering for you? Find that prayer and take it to heart. It is what Jesus is praying RIGHT NOW to the Father for YOU and only you. It is Jesus’ prayer for you and now it is your prayer. Find it and pray it.

Psalm 97:11 Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. (righteous means being in a right relationship in Christ)

Spirituality can change our life! When we feel His Presence we receive both Wisdom and Joy.