“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
In just a few words, Jesus summarizes his identity and purpose. Although taken from a different part of John’s Gospel than last week’s Bread of Life readings, Jesus makes clear why he is able to give eternal life to those who believe in him and follow him. He has power over life and death because in his words, “The Father and I are one.”
In those same words, Jesus affirms his place within the Trinity, a person distinct within it yet part of the undivided unity. God, help me recognize how to place myself in the Father’s hands. Help me understand that the place I want to be for eternity is with before the throne of the Lamb. An image of this, an image of martyrs in heaven, is presented in the second reading: “For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” How many ways are there to call on the name of the Lord to hear his voice: Abba, Father; Father in heaven; Lamb of God; Word Incarnate; and countless others. Or simply, Jesus. Whatever way I speak the Lord’s name, let it please him and bring him near me so that I can hear his voice.
Today I will let a lot of things slip through my fingers—wishes, desires, possibilities. I will let opportunities go, some of them losses; some, by God’s grace, near misses I might have willed. But I will let them go because the day ends and because I must; I have no choice. But let me ask the Lord to help me stay in his presence or have him come after me, especially after Communion, when I stand before God’s throne and have within me the “body and blood, soul and divinity” of the Lamb, the one who sits at the right hand of God.