Listen

[Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father …”]

“Now I’m coming to you and I say these things while I’m in the world so that they can share completely in my joy. I gave your word to them and the world hated them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t belong to this world. I’m not asking that you take them out of this world but that you keep them safe from the evil one.”

John 17:13-15

Think

It may sound strange to hear Jesus say, “I gave your word to them and the world hated them, because they don’t belong to this world.” Most of us are lucky to live in places where we’re not persecuted or “hated” for being Christians. But if you’ve ever sat at a table where someone has just made a cruel joke and you’re the only one not laughing, you may have a pretty good idea of what Jesus means here.

Being a Christian is an amazing experience. It can also be an incredibly lonely one. Following Jesus means treating everyone as a beloved child of God, and that means standing up for people who are mocked or excluded — even if it makes us the targets of mocking and exclusion ourselves. When that happens, Jesus reminds us that we really belong to a better world, and that everything we suffer for the sake of others will one day lead us to share completely in his joy.

Catherine Healy

Pray

Jesus, you have called me to be “in the world, but not of the world.” Help me to live this life as an ambassador for God’s kingdom, and lead me into the joy that only comes from knowing you. Amen.

Go

Jesus promises to pray for all of us. How is he praying for you right now?