“If Only I May Finish My Course” by Melanie Rigney
“Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace." (Acts 20:24)
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. (Psalm 68:33)
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.” (John 17:1-2)
Piety
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Study
They call it the high priestly prayer – the words Jesus says to the Father before His Passion begins. The agony in the garden past, the instructions to his followers complete, Jesus turns to His source of strength and comfort. Eventually, He prays for the believers who followed Him, and asks that all people might know the Father through Him. But first, Jesus has a beautifully intimate moment with God because the hour is at hand. The work is complete. He breathes in the Father before the final leg of his earthly odyssey.
Paul exhibits the same calm in today’s reading from Acts. His concern isn’t for the presbyters at Ephesus, whom he expects he will never see again. It’s about finishing what he began in Jesus’s name.
We pray for many things: the petitions others ask us to put on our list, for our health and that of those we love, for a new job, for world peace, for a win by our favorite sports team. All fine things to pray for. But may we learn from Jesus and Paul, and pray first for the faith to stay the course until it is done.
Action
Spend some time with the priestly prayer. What can you do in the coming week to increase your glorification of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit through your actions?
Photo credit: Pixabay, Skeeze: https://pixabay.com/en/runner-long-distance-fitness-557130/
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