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Glorify Him

             “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. (John 17:1-2)

 

            Generally, we refer to “the Lord’s Prayer” as the teaching example Jesus gave to His disciples: Matthew 6:9-13. But this “High Priestly Prayer” is what the Lord prayed. They both begin with the Father, whether shared (our Father) or not (Father.)

            He seems to skip the “hallowed by thy name” part and jump straight to the “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done part.” The hour had come. What hour? Clearly, there had been a discussion of “the hour” before. There is an assumption of agreement and expected mutual cooperation and acknowledgment of collaboration. It’s all cyclical. Glorify…that I may glorify You. For You gave…that I may give… to those given to me.

            What does it mean to glorify someone? According to the Oxford Dictionary, it means to praise or worship God, to describe or represent as admirable. Jesus was calling on the Father to praise him, to worship him, to put him forth as being worthy and admirable so that Jesus could praise him, worship him, and put him forth as being worthy and admirable.

               Sadly, and naturally, we don’t tend to do a good job of glorifying God or even of wanting our glory to glorify Him. If we get together, we can whoop it up and act like we’re at a pep rally. If we listen to music, we might sing along and sing His praises. Some say, “It was God” when they are complimented for something. I’m not saying that any of those things are bad or wrong, but I wonder whether those things glorify God. Or, if they do, do they glorify Him as much as, perhaps, our turning to Him for help or admission that we are weak.

            In His prayer, Jesus could ask God to glorify Him because He was at the point of going to the cross. I suspect I’m not at a point where I can ask God to glorify me so that I can glorify Him – but I can ask Him to glorify Himself in and through me and to teach me how to glorify Him.

 

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