Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the 
world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.” (John 17:9-11, NABRE)
Jesus prays for us? Seriously? He knows His earthly end is near. Remember, He’s fully divine and fully human, and that means He’s certain or all but certain that freeing us is going to hurt that earthly body of His quite badly.
And yet, He prays for us. He expresses both love for us, and a bit of concern for what happens to us when He goes to the Father.
Pretty amazing stuff. Pretty humbling stuff, because when we know a storm is coming, the natural inclination is to pray for ourselves, for the strength and the faith to weather it. Nothing wrong with that. But what about those in the world, family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, who will be affected by our inability to make meals, go to prayer group, mow their grass, review the project documents? Maybe they don’t even realize what our temporary or permanent absence will mean.
Jesus knew He was going to die, and yet He prayed for us. Think about it. Pray about it. Emulate it when the journey gets tough.
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