The Monday after Exaudi Sunday
Posted on May 18, 2026 by under
Scripture: St. John 17:20-26 (NKJV)
17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Devotion
It is an unfortunate misconception that having faith or “getting saved” is simply about “me and Jesus being in heaven.” If our faith is just focused on “me”, then we miss what He is teaching us with His prayer. The kingdom of God, the Church, is about the community of His faithful people thinking, walking, and loving according to His will and Word, here in time and eternally in the life of the world to come.
Jesus Christ is the center and focus, not “me”. As He works and prays to make us one in Him and the Father, His life and ministry on earth showed us what that should look like. He submitted to others in His vocations, He fulfilled day to day responsibilities, He loved His adversaries as He still interacted with them, He helped His friends and loved ones, and He suffered the cross with patience and diligence.
Being faithful does not mean insulating ourselves from the present life while we focus on our own sense of piety and desire for heaven. It means letting Jesus Christ continue to work through us. The will of the Father and the power of the Spirit still are focused on our Savior working, loving, correcting, helping, and bearing crosses in this world, through us.
Eternal life isn’t just sitting around in heaven. His Word teaches us to confess that the communion of saints and the company of heaven will abide, worship, and walk in the new heaven and new earth in the life of the world to come, as we are all focused on the Lamb who has taken away our sin and gives us that life!
Collect: Almighty, Everlasting God, make us to have always a devout will toward Thee, and to serve Thy Majesty with a pure heart; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
