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| Some of the happy family |
When I was pastor of a small parish in Louisiana, a wonderful old man worked for the church as gardener and groundskeeper. “Vic” had a great love of God and the church and a wonderful spirit of dedication. Knowing little about gardening or lawn maintenance I rarely asked him to do anything; he worked of his own initiative, generously and tirelessly.
On occasion, however, I did ask Vic to do something. Whatever it was, he dropped what he was doing and immediately turned his attention to my chore. He did that, again, out of love of God and the church and his loyalty to me, the parish priest.
I think of Vic when I hear this passage from John 6. Jesus certainly intends to save us from sin and death. As one of our own children he has a great fondness for us. He is child, brother, cousin, neighbor and friend to each of us; and God sees us through the friendly, human eyes of Jesus.
But he doesn’t save us simply because he wants to. He saves us in obedience to his God and Father.
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in the second volume of his book Jesus of Nazareth, reminds us of Jesus’ Agony in the Garden. We find him there in the extreme tension of his love of life and his love of God. Like any human being with good health and a good attitude, he has enormously enjoyed being human. There is so much pure pleasure in being alive! He has no regrets whatsoever but, in obedience to God his Father, his life must end now. Although he is in perfect health today, he will be dead tomorrow at this time.
Yes, Jesus dies to save us but not simply because he wants to. More important than his own will, Jesus dies in obedience to his God and Father. All of the gospels describe the radical obedience of Jesus.
We worship a God who is meek and humble of heart, not a God who does whatever he wants to do, arbitrarily and without purpose. By our worship of this God, we become like him, meek and humble. The Christian should have little fascination with the power of this world – political, economic, military or mechanical. Each of them reveal something of God’s majesty, but we see God far more clearly in the meek and lowly, the sick and needy, the despised and imprisoned. There we find an approachable, accessible God who may be worshipped face to face. There we find a God who looks upon our kindness with gratitude, a God who appreciates every sacrifice we make.
In his presence too, we become more approachable and accessible. We don’t need secrets or mysteries because our greatest secret is right there for all to see, our love of God. He is here with us in the table fellowship of our Eucharist as we consume his body and blood. And we are Eucharist to the world as we go out from the church to be humble, gentle Christians amid our family, friends and neighbors.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.