“Oh Lord, keep them safe” I murmured as the train lurched into motion and family began to slide away, into the past. Stiff and still, they stood in a close group: parents, two sisters, grandparents, great aunt, and a boyfriend. College beckoned across the continent. Unsaid was my hope that they would miss me.
While I knew they were not in fact any safer when I was with them, my prayer was an awkward hope that there was another dimension of caring in the universe which would hold all of us in some invisible network of connection. And that someday I would be free enough to let them go.
Because John’s gospel for this week* is so full of theological language, of glory and transcendence, it’s easy to miss the ache in Jesus’ heart as he prepares to leave his beloved disciples. “Protect them in your name,” he prays, “that they may be one as we are one.” That they would trust the unity Jesus felt with the Holy One and share that good news with others.
And now, as I prepare for my 65th college reunion, I know that grief and prayer are simply the other side of love and we already belong in that invisible network. From the beginning, we have been held in God’s love like a gravitational field. Safety is no longer the issue. Trust is.
- Marjory Zoet Bankson, InwardOutward Editor
For More...
- Where is your trust in God’s love being challenged?
- What risks might you be called to take?
- What relationships bear witness to God’s love?
