Maundy Thursday, April 6: “Passion of Delay”
John 17: 22, 23: “The glory which You have given to Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, just as You have loved Me.”
When and where Jesus prayed this prayer we do not know, but St. John placed it in the midst of the Passion for a reason. All the other benefits of Christ’s Passion: forgiveness, reconciliation, resurrection, sonship, eternal life, and so many more–have been received by man and made effective in his existence. But the glory that brings about unity, though received, has yet to be used for the purpose given–all believers coming together as one. What might He think about that? Will we forever venerate Christ’s Passion, yet continually reject one of its benefits?
