Today's gospel, 3 June: Knowing God

Today's gospel      John 17:1-11



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. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.

And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

Christian Art

You can find a reflection on this gospel and a related artwork from Uganda here:

https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-17-1-11a/

Sacred Space

You can find this gospel and a gentle prayer guide here:

https://sacredspace.com/daily-prayer/2025-06-03/

What is eternal life?

Jesus' prayer to God the Father, prior to the crucifixion, helps answer this question. Does eternal life mean simply that we live forever, in a futile and repetitive cycle and duration of existence like that experienced by the main character in the 1990s movie Groundhog Day'? Of course not. Eternal life, according to John's Gospel, is found in knowing God, that is, in being in close relationship or friendship with God, who is love (1 John 4:8). St Paul later reiterated this when he wrote, "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6: 23).

The concept of eternal life implies more than quantity but quality of life and being. This is in keeping also with earlier words of Jesus: "I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly", or "I have come that they might have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10). Jesus came to earth, lived, died and rose again, not so that we can have "pie in the sky when we die" and live future-only oriented lives, but so that we, human beings, can know and love God now and have the privilege and pleasure of serving and reflecting God in the world now, being Christ's hands, feet and eyes of compassion in our everyday situations.

Does this mean that life for the Christian is all happiness and no hardship? Clearly not, for all human beings are subject to highs and lows, a wide range of joys, trials and suffering. However, knowing God and being conscious that we are always enveloped in God's unconditional love opens to us the possibility of a deep peace, purposeful service and quiet confidence even when life's road is rough and the way and future uncertain.