6 October | EVERYONE
“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." John 17: 15-17
The moon sets as Jesus prays. The stars also disappear, and Jesus continues to pray. Kneeling on the ground, His face is lifted, looking up to heaven and contemplating the glory of the Father. He opens His heart and raises His voice to the heavenly throne. He is God, but He became man to reach His beloved children sunk in the abyss of sin, to rescue them, and bring them back to the Father.
Now He knows that the final moment has come. Death approaches ruthlessly and inexorably, creeping slowly like a snake on the lookout for the helpless victim. That is why Jesus has withdrawn into the mountain to pray, not for Himself but for His disciples and through them, for all of us.
"I do not pray that You should take them out of the world," He says. Going through this world of afflictions and pain is necessary. Israel also walked for years through the desolate desert to reach the Promised Land. We are already at the gates of Canaan, but we are still in this world. We move in it, and we walk through it. We breathe in its bacteria, we tread its filthy soil, and we walk its dusty paths. It needs to be so, "do not take them out of the world."
Does it mean that we are abandoned in this land where evil seems to reign supreme? No! Of course not! Jesus prayed for us, asking the Father to keep us from evil, and then He gave us the powerful instrument of protection: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."
Every time you open the Holy Scriptures and meditate on them, you grow spiritually and become stronger so that you are not swallowed up by the quicksand of the world. How will you clear your path? By keeping His Word (cf. Psalm 119:9).
Therefore, keep His Words in your heart so that you will not be swallowed up by the raging sea of this life.
Take Action
Jesus does not ask you to encapsulate yourself in a bubble ("religious", ecclesiastical...) but to remain in the world. Of course, together with Him so that what you enjoy and radiate is good. Sing "Your Word Is Truth" (if possible, with your family).