Jesus did not pray for the world, but he prayed for a world of people.

Sunday, 6/1/14

The Gospel for this Sunday quotes Jesus as praying to the Father, saying, “I do not pray for the world, but for the ones you have given me.”

I have heard recently of so-called Christian churches that promise their members prosperity. Don’t you feel that those people represent the world for which Jesus said he did not pray.

That world has mottos like “All’s fair in love and war.” Or “Never give a sucker an even break,” or “Whoever gets there firstest gets the mostest.”

But Jesus did pray for the real people of the world. He admired the good Samaritan. He said the pagan Phoenician woman showed more faith than anyone in Israel.

He inspired the bishops at Vatican II to write their “Pastoral Constitution On The Church In The Modern World” which begins by saying the following.   

The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an eco in our hearts.