“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began."
Seventh Sunday of Easter - John 17:1-11a

Verse 3 leaps out at you, doesn't it? Not just because it's in red.

Actually, all of it - and more - is printed red in several of my Bibles. The question is, well, should it be in red? Did Jesus say this? Would Jesus say this?

I'm not conducting a mini-Jesus Seminar here. Those guys - peace be upon them - have long done their work and been roundly criticized. But, still, can any of us help ourselves?

In such a case, then, I was surprised satisfied when Fr. Mike stated the obvious in the opening remarks of his homily: this insertion originates with the Evangelist. Barrett provides more rationale in his concurrence:

"This verse must be regarded as parenthetical, but this does not mean that it is a gloss. John felt the necessity of a definition of eternal life, and being unable to use a footnote incorporated it into the prayer ..."

The Gospel According to St. John (Second Edition), page 503.

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