This Eastertide we’ve watched what has emerged from the presence of the Risen Christ. Like a mother who labors through a difficult birth for her child’s life, Jesus labored on our behalf. We have received so much from the death and resurrected presence of the Risen Christ.
But in today’s passage, on the evening of his arrest, Jesus is asking for something, not giving us something: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”
These words, “glory” and “glorify” are words that Caesar Augustus and the Roman Empire used to describe themselves. The “glory” of Rome was not just showcased in the propaganda of wealth, architecture, and military expansion. Rome gloried in its power to crush resistance.
Crucifixion wasn’t an efficient way of killing, but it was a masterclass in propaganda. Rebels and criminals were shamed, tortured, and made into public spectacles. Shame was weaponized to glorify Rome.
In this prayer, Jesus begins with the words, “The hour has come.” He knows the suffering that is ahead of him, and I sense an awareness of and a courageous acceptance of this. Knowing what lies ahead, he asks that the cross, the instrument of shame that broadcasts the “glory” of Rome, would become an instrument of glory revealing his true identity..
The word “glorify,” in the Gospel of John, has a specific meaning. To glorify is to reveal its true nature. Jesus came to glorify, or reveal, the true nature of God. During his life Jesus faithfully lived in deep alignment with the One he called Father and revealed God’s love. On the eve of his death he asks that his suffering would not be the last word. Out of his suffering, may glory, may revelation, emerge.
The next day, Jesus was mocked. He was lifted up between two criminals and dressed in “royal robes”. A crown of thorns was pressed into his head and a piece of wood with the words “King of the Jews” was nailed to his cross. All this to shame him. Yet, in death as in life, Jesus continued to align himself to faithfulness and love. His resurrection gloriously flipped this cross of shame into a cosmic throne.
Jesus said in his prayer, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Jesus wanted all this revealed in his death and resurrection so that we might know God. This knowing, Jesus says, IS, eternal life. The word “know” here is relational, experiential, and intimate. It’s like Jesus is praying, “May my death reveal you, so they — this world and its empires set against you — would see you for who you are. In seeing you, people would draw near to you, and in drawing near you, would come home and live inside this love.”
Blessings, Anne