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Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 29 - June 5
Dear Church,
This week’s Gospel reading (John 17:20-26) invites us into one of the most intimate moments in Scripture: Jesus’ prayer. On the night before his death, Jesus turns not only to his Father—but also to us. He prays not just for his disciples then, but for all who would come to believe through their word. That includes you and me. We are not spectators to this prayer; we are its subject.
There’s something profoundly humbling about being prayed for. When someone prays for you, they’re acknowledging that your life matters. That you are not alone. That your burdens and your hopes are carried not just in your own strength, but are held by God and shared in community.
What’s more astonishing is who is praying: Jesus himself. With the cross looming before him, Jesus could have prayed for relief, for escape, for vindication. Instead, he prays for us—that we might be one, that we might be drawn into the love he shares with the Father. His final prayer is not for power or safety, but for unity, love, and the revealing of God’s glory through the Church.
This is echoed in our first reading from Acts (16:16–34), where the early church is living out that very unity and love. Paul and Silas, imprisoned for their witness, respond not with anger but with prayer and song. Their faith leads to liberation—not just for themselves, but for their jailer and his whole household. Their witness opens hearts. And in Revelation (22:12–14, 16–17, 20–21), we are given a glimpse of the end toward which all our prayers move: the invitation to come, to drink freely of the water of life, and to wait in hope for Christ’s return.
So let me say this clearly, because sometimes we forget: Jesus is praying for you. Right now. He is interceding for your joy, your peace, your healing, your wholeness. He is praying for your family, for this church, and for the world we are called to serve. That means our future does not rest on our own shoulders, but in the care of the Triune God. We are free—free to love, free to serve, free to witness—because we are held in prayer.
Wherever you find yourself this week—whether in the confidence of faith or the confusion of doubt—know this: you are not alone. You are prayed for. You are loved. And you are sent to bear that love into the world.
In Christ’s peace,
Pastor Will
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