In John 17:6-19, we are presented with Jesus’s prayer asking God to watch over the disciples. We learn that Jesus is proud of his disciples, but also a little afraid for them, so he hopes they will be protected – that they will be safe. He wants them to be happy. He loves them; he loves them as a parent loves the children. We may also notice that Jesus doesn’t exactly follow the strict roles of the men and women of his time. Jesus’s words sound like the words a mother of the time might prayer for her children. In this case, this scripture could be included with others in which the Divine is seen as having both the feminine as well as the masculine face. Fitting in the US, because Sunday was Mother’s Day!