The Hour Has Come

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. John 17:1-8

Jesus was praying, offering himself to God's providence and offering his followers as well. They all suffered together in his passion, his crucifixion and death. None of us are ever ready when a loved one dies or is near death. We want more time, we want them with us forever, don't we? Yet we know we all have to face those times of deep, wrenching loss and our own end.  Our God promises to be with us through it all. We never face life's worst alone even when we feel otherwise. What if during this Lent, we lived our lives as these were our last days? What would we do differently? We don't know when our hour has come but we can be assured that God is with us always.

Wondrous Creator, you formed us in the womb

brought us into the world to live and grow

and walk with us as we toddle through this world.

Human life and all your creation have been devalued

greed has made the forests and the streams denigrated

and we labor every day without hope or possibility.

Yet you, O Lord, give us new life over and over again

promising to renew us as we live for our neighbors

giving us the strength and compassion to world needs now. Amen.