Jesus Keeps Us In His Heart

𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐀𝐜 𝟐𝟎:𝟐𝟖-𝟑𝟖

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟖:𝟐𝟗-𝟑𝟎, 𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟔 “𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐎 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏𝟕:𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟗

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉.” (𝒗.19)

          Even at the point when death beckons, we whom God had created in his own image and likeness remain close to the heart of Jesus. This is evident in the prayer of Jesus the second part of which we read in 𝒗𝒗.11-19 which is our Gospel reading today.

         This passage also gives us a complete picture of why we were created in the first place and if we are going to tie this in with the Great Commission for Christians (𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕 28:18-20) it would be easy for us to grasp what our mission in life is.

         It was very clear in this Gospel reading that even if Jesus was laying the groundwork for his eventual departure by his death on the cross his heart was filled with concern for his disciples. Though he was not asking God “𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅” (𝒗.15) which would have been the most convenient way for his disciples to escape the trials and persecution Jesus asked the Father “𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒆.” (𝒗.15)        

         The prayer of Jesus in very clear terms shows us the depth of the love of Jesus for us: “𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆. 𝑰 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕, 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅.” (𝒗.12) This prayer indeed proves that anyone who has entered into a relationship with Christ are kept out of harm’s way and that no one will be lost.

         This is what we see the Church doing through its many programs to evangelize and bring the Gospel of Christ to the people especially the unchurched. It is also by God’s Grace that numerous organizations have now stepped up in responding to the call of the Church to bring everyone back into the Christian faith.

         In his Motu Proprio for the creation of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘟𝘝𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘏𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳: “𝘎𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶” (𝘔𝘵 28:19-20) 

         Faithful to this mandate, the Church—a people chosen by God to declare his wonderful deeds (𝒄𝒇. 1 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 2:9) - ever since she received the gift of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (𝒄𝒇. 𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒔 2:14), has never tired of making known to the whole world the beauty of the Gospel as she preaches Jesus Christ, true God and true man, the same “𝒚𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓” (𝑯𝒆𝒃 13:8), who, by his death and Resurrection, brought us salvation and fulfilled the promise made of old. Hence the mission of evangelization, is a continuation of the work desired by the Lord Jesus, is necessary for the Church: it cannot be overlooked; it is an expression of her very nature.

         The Church also exists in order to EVANGELIZE – the carrying forth of the Good News to every sector of the human race so that by its strength it may enter into the hearts of men and renew the human race. (𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘪 𝘕𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘕𝘰. 14, 18)        

         To evangelize and bring the Gospel of Christ to others and into the world is our mandate as disciples and this should be the fruit of what Jesus told his disciples and which is now being passed on to us through the Scriptures and Traditions of the Church. “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚.” (𝒗.13)        

         Truly there is joy in serving our God but we should not even for once assume that it will be a pleasurable ride because Jesus Himself warns that “𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕.” (𝒗.14) The key to such immeasurable joy is to live in an intimate union with Christ because only in doing so that we can experience God’s special care and protection and savor the victory that God brings even in times when we are faced with defeat.

         The world will hate us because our Christian values differ from the values of the world. Christian disciples especially those who live under the banner of truth will always be subject to persecution and we are privy to these scenarios especially today when there is an absence of truth in the way people live.

         As we have said many times in the past, membership in a Christian organization do not a Christian make which means that going to Mass and or Prayer Meetings will not get you to heaven especially if you live a dichotomous life. People who do are everywhere and we could be standing right next to an agent of destruction which is why it is relatively important that we immerse ourselves in the Word of God (𝑯𝒆𝒃 4:12).

         A daily application of God’s Word has a purifying effect not only on our minds but in our hearts as well and this is what Jesus prayed to God to: “𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉.” (𝒗.17) which again means that as His Word points out the sins we have committed, we have a duty to confess these sins so we can constantly renew our relationship with Christ.

         What we actually see in this prayer of Jesus Christ are three things: 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑮𝒐𝒅 (𝒗.11); 𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒆 (𝒗.15), 𝒂𝒏𝒅; 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔 (𝒗.17).        

         Knowing that Jesus keeps us in his heart and is praying for us should give us confidence as we work to bring His Gospel to the ends of the earth. It is when we give God the glory through the work of our hands that we too are glorified in Him when Christ in our lives appear. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 4, 2025)