There is an obvious parallelism between Paul and Jesus in our readings for today. Both are speaking words of farewell to their existing communities, but with different destinations: Paul to Jerusalem, where he expects persecution, imprisonment, hardships, and even death; Jesus to the new and heavenly Jerusalem. The other big difference, of course, is that Paul is addressing his farewell directly to the leaders of the community, while Jesus, raising his eyes to heaven, is addressing God. So, the first is a farewell address, and the second is a final prayer.

On the other hand, we know that this prayer of Jesus occurred before his suffering and death, which, in John's Gospel, are the first steps to resurrected glory. "If I be lifted up, I will draw all people to myself." Exaltation, for John's Jesus, is both the being raised up on the Cross and being raised from the dead. And as we just finished celebrating His Ascension and are preparing to celebrate Pentecost, we get to see the complete Mystery, the full spectrum of Salvation!

I think a good way of praying over our readings today is to remember that "eternal life" is not just about the future; eternal life is now! In the words of John's Gospel of today, "this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ." Even as Jesus is praying for us in this passage, because we are the ones who have received his words and understood that he came from God, so too we can join Him in his priestly prayer. It is, above all, a prayer for unity: "that they all may be one in God." Belonging to Jesus is belonging to God and to one another. How devoutly we should pray for the realization of that truth, since it is all too easy to see ourselves as separate and unconnected!

Finally, it can be very consoling for us to reflect upon the last six lines of today's psalm: