GOD DOESN'T DO MAGIC

GOSPEL — JOHN 17:1-11
The Seventh Sunday of Easter

​It happens in the movies all the time: just as we are made to believe that all hope is lost and evil will triumph, suddenly the hero discovers a mystical phrase that will give him supernatural strength to defeat the enemy. Or the heroine finds a charmed sword that gives her the power to do the same. Believing in movie magic can be a welcome respite from the grind of everyday life. Knowing an enchanted word that keeps us impervious to harm sounds incredible—who wouldn’t want that? Those moments may work in the movies, but they don’t happen in real life.

Don’t confuse Jesus’ words in today’s gospel with a magic spell or incantation. As Jesus prays for his disciples, he knows the suffering they will soon endure because they have come to believe in him. There is no way to avert what they will undergo; each one of his disciples is headed toward a certain and painful death, just as Jesus is. Jesus knows these things cannot be prevented, but that isn’t the point of his prayer.

Being in the world means bad things will happen to us. Crosses aren’t special charms that keep evil away, and wearing one won’t keep you from harm. Tragedies take place, people get sick, bullies victimize, the innocent get blamed. There are no magic words to prevent hardships or disasters. When Jesus prays for the Father to protect those who belong to him, he isn’t asking God to keep those bad things from happening. The name of God was never intended to create force fields around us keeping bad things out. God and the one who comes in God’s name make us one together with them. In this unity, life always triumphs in the end.


From sundaysandseasons.com.
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