Lenten Meditation Day 14 2017

Scripture

John 17:6-19

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.[a] 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them[b] in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself,[c] that they also may be sanctified[d] in truth.

Prayer

You are the Word made flesh. You are the recipient of our lives. Your Father sent you to us and gave us to you. You hold us and intercede for our protection. You have provided and you are the Truth. Forgive us when we put other names on you; when we give you roles that are not yours. Forgive us for following false and personal “Jesus”. Guide us to find you and only you. Amen.

Meditation:

In the last week I found a hack for gmail that allows me to have a preview pane. I have missed this feature since moving away from an Outlook email platform. I have little idea about much of what I just wrote. What I do know is I am able to see who sent me the email and part of the body of the email, which allows me to determine how quickly I need to open said email. Often times I can delete it straight away because the sender and information I see in the preview pane let me know that it is spam or an advertisement or a forwarded message (did I just write that?). If I only had the body of the email I would need to use context and clues to figure out who sent it. If I only have a sender but don’t have the body then I am not sure of the email’s significance. Is it a love note, an action that needs to be done, a shared funny story, and agenda or invitation? I guess what I am trying to say is I like to see both who sent the email and what it is about in a fuller way than just the subject line lets on.

Jesus is the message, the context and content, who is sent by God to reveal Himself toward us. This gives so much weight and authority to Jesus and His life. He did not just show up. God sent HIm. This is purposeful and direct. This is not a spur of the moment rush. God sent Jesus and Jesus came. He came to manifest God. He came to proclaim and provide the way to a right relationship with God, ourselves, others and place. Lots of people just see the content of the message and then they only want to look at the parts they like or they relate to most. As important as the content is the sender. Who sent the message validates the content. It gives us a place of assurance and rest.

We have all received an email from a prince who has money to give us. The content is exciting but the sender is false. We have received emails where the content was a hyperlink to something from one we love. The sender is real but the content is false because their account was hacked. In Christ, the Word made flesh, the content and sender, God, is Truth.

Action

We are sent as well. God sends us into this world to manifest His name. Find a way to do that today.