Jn 17:1-11a
1[Jesus] raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, 2just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. 3Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. 4I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. 5Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.
6“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
7Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, 8because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, 10and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. 11And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”
GLORY: Antiquity has always attached great value to the concepts of honor, distinction, esteem, and glory. The classic word for glory (Greek doxa) originally meant “opinion” (derived from dokeo) or a well-informed reputation or renown. It is closely associated with time (honor) which is a distinguished quality that is readily evident in a person.
The Greek Bible—the Septuagint—gave a technical meaning to doxa. It came to mean honor or glory intended for God. It referred to the majesty and eminence which radiated from God’s own being. It was linked with the Hebrew concept of kabod, the visible manifestation of God’s power. God himself could not be seen, but his radiance—as that of a fire or light—could be experienced (Ex 16:7; Dt 5:24). Hence, the glory of God was apparent at the Tabernacle (Ex 40:34) and the Temple of Solomon (1 Kgs 8:11) with the light or fire that overshadowed the place.
In his Gospel, John develops the concept that Jesus is the glory of God made apparent in Israel once more. He mentions doxa/doxazein 41 times. He highlights that Jesus dwelt in the glory of the Father before the Incarnation (Jn 1:1-18), and that during Jesus’ earthly mission this glory is still visible (Jn 1:14; 8:54). In today’s Gospel reading, which is Jesus’ Priestly Prayer, when Jesus asks to be “glorified,” it is not for his own sake, for the glory of the Son and of the Father is one and the same (Jn 12:28; 13:31).