Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, Tone 7; Commemoration of the First Six Ecumenical Councils; the Holy Martyr Hyacinth of Amastris; Holy Martyr Emilian (360-63)
Hebrews 13:7-16; John 17:1-13
Read John 17:1-13
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”
This verse may sound a bit contradictory. When we read about the “hour of our Lord”, we usually think about the suffering and death of Jesus. When we read about the Father glorifying His Son, we usually think about His Resurrection. We assume that Jesus is asking the Father to “Please make sure to resurrect (glorify) me after this so that I can glorify YOU.”
And yet… if we think about Jesus for the past 2000 years and how He has become known throughout the different nations and different generations, we must admit that it is first and foremost because of His death on the Cross. It is not His Resurrection that is best known, but rather His excruciating death on the Cross. So one could argue that the Father has made His Son better known than anyone else in the world, in other words, the Father has glorified His Son through His death on the Cross.
So if we go back to that verse once again, we may read it this way: “Father, it is time for my Passion and my death on the Cross (my hour). Make me known through this death on the Cross as I know You will.”