Pray For the World

" Jesus raised His eyes to Heaven and said, 'Father, the hour has come. . . I revealed Your name to those whom You gave me out of the world. They belonged to You, and You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word. . . The words You gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from You, and they have believed that You sent me. 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.' " --[John 17: 1-11A]

This Scriptural passage seems tautological, i.e., circular and repetitive.  But the repetition is rhythmic, and serves in a beautiful way to remind us of the total unity of God and Jesus, with and in US.

Jesus IS God. Jesus comes from God and returns to God. We have been given to Jesus, and Jesus has been given to us.

This perfect Unity is a beautiful mystery. And yet, the most difficult verse of all says, " Now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world." -[John 17: 11A].

Somehow, we must all be resigned to living in this world, no matter how confusing, troublesome, or traumatic.

Growing up,  I received plenty of conflicting and even wrong advice from my parents. I was a gentle and loving child. I was eager to love others, and to show all the different kinds of people whom I encountered, my sweet, gentle and compassionate self. But my parents would say, "Oh, this one is a low-down immigrant. That one is uneducated or poor."

Or, I would suggest that we give a donation to charity now and again, from our bounty. But I was swiftly told, " We don't GIVE our money away."

My response as a child was simple. I ignored their advice. They were jealous, judgmental, bitter, full of jostling and strife, bickering, angry and prideful.

I took it upon myself to do helpful chores around the house. This would keep the Peace, I thought, as I weeded my mother's garden, knitted my brother a sweater, and mended my father's socks.

If things were still not peaceful, I would leave the house and sit high on a hill, breathing in the sweet air and singing softly to myself. When I had regained my Peace, I went home again.

Somehow, as I have become an adult, I have taken it upon myself to try to figure out the World.

This whole current controversy about FBI Director James Comey? -- DID former President Bill Clinton really poison the Justice Department investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails? OR, did he simply talk about their grandchildren, as reported in the press? Did Hillary really delete 30,000 emails that were simply about their daughter's wedding or about Hillary's yoga practices? Or was she hiding something a good deal more sinister? Did James Come really rely on false intel from the Russians about a supposed "secret deal" between the Clintons and the Justice Department, not to indict Hillary? Or, as the New York Times reported earlier, did Comey reveal details of the investigation of Hillary only under the threat of other NY FBI agents warning him, 'Go public, or WE will.' ?

I tell you, with all of my reading three newspapers per day, my constant checking of Facebook, CNN.com, Fox News, Bloomberg, and any snippet I may happen to hear in a coffee shop or at the market -- I am exhausted!

I have commiserated with friends over whether the truly difficult people in my life are Evil, ignorant or mentally unstable. My friends and I have concluded, after literally hours of fruitless discussion, that we have no idea.

Recently, I wrote a note to my cousin, who lives in a different country. I wrote that, given the state of affairs lately, our attitudes have shifted a LOT. I said that, "We feel that we have a nice home, financial stability, each other and our son. We try to 'stay right with God.'  We try to do good in our community and our world. There are so many things we cannot control, like incomprehensible school curriculum, or nasty politics, or our son's future. So we take each day as it comes, we do the best we can with what we can control and we leave the rest to God."

I sent this note as a kind of wake-up call, that I have kind of given up on this world. I am just going to eat right, take care of those whom I encounter, of friends and family but otherwise, give it all UP.

So, my cousin wrote back : "A model we should all live by!"

I was kind of stunned at her reaction. I thought my message was one of failure and defeat. . .

The truth is, my message is one of surrender TO God. I cannot figure this crazy world out. BUT, as a flawed human, I am not supposed to do that!

Yes, I am a citizen of this world, and I work hard to be a blessing to others. Of course, we are IN this world.

But, we humans are ALL incomprehensible at times, difficult, and yes, at times sinful. I cannot explain the world, or save the world. I alone cannot even save myself.

Only God and Jesus can do that. . .

"[My followers] have believed that You sent me. 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."

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