Hello, I’m Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the “Sunday Soundbite” for the Seventh Sunday of Easter.  How often do we promise to pray for someone we care about?  Did you know there’s a special prayer for each of us, prayed by Christ himself?

Today we read from John’s Gospel from what known as the “Last Discourse.”  At the Last Supper,  Jesus speaks to his disciples about his coming absence. Scripture scholar Raymond Brown tells us that Christ’s words, addressed to his intimate circle of followers, can also be understood as the Risen Jesus speaking from heaven to all those who will follow after him.

Today’s selection, near the end of the Discourse, is a prayer of Jesus, addressed to the Father. It sums up Christ’s work on earth. He’s revealed God to the disciples and they’ve entered into a relationship with God, in and through Jesus. Now, he prays for those who will remain “in the world,” after he has returned to the Father.

We’re the subjects of this prayer as much as the original disciples were. We remain “in the world.”  We need support and affirmation to continue living out the word entrusted to us by Christ.

Elsewhere, the Lord assures us that the Spirit is his gift to us, providing the support we need. We pray for that gift as we approach next week’s Feast of Pentecost.