Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

 Lectionary: 246

"Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.

 B efore we go a step further into Lent and into the Gospel of Saint John, we must ponder the intense relationship of God and Jesus. It is unlike anything we have ever seen; it is far deeper and more mysterious than anything we can imagine. It is beautiful, delightful, joyous, and demanding. If it costs Mary's Son his life and every moment of his life, it also demands much of us -- more than our human flesh is willing to pay. 

But we cannot turn away from it. Having seen the revelations of his baptism, transfiguration, and crucifixion, turning away threatens violence to our human nature. We must know more. We cannot live without asking what it means for us, and how we should respond.

Jesus insistently refers to God as his father. In more intimate moments, he speaks to his Abba, a Jewish child's affectionate word for his papa. We have never heard such language. It is so unusual it must be blasphemous. And yet it's clearly not. Nothing could be more transparently right. 

And so we listen to his words and open our hearts to their meaning and import. His opponents have already decided about them: 

"...he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God."

They cannot and will never accept that. It is ridiculous and scandalous. To paraphrase Saint Paul, "a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." (1 Corinthians 1:23) 

But his teaching fascinates us, and we're not as eager as Jews and Greeks to make sense of them. We can wait and listen, and allow the Lord to show us what he is so absolutely sure of. Clearly, he must tell us. As one of our children, he has that duty to us. And the relationship -- that is, his sonship -- gives him the right to speak of it to us. 

Quite unexpectedly, Mary's son has become the mediator between God and his creation. We already knew our privileged position as rulers and co-creators of the world. Anyone can see there is no other animal like us; none have our abilities, power, or cleverness. 

But in our sinful condition we have seen ourselves as destroyers of the Earth, an invasive species; and murderers of one another. We have felt more like scum than rightful sovereigns. When the Lord called us worms and maggots we didn't suppose he was joshing us as a father teases his frightened children. We took it literally because it seemed true! 

But Jesus has persuaded us to listen to his words about the One whom he calls my Father. God has been angry with us, but he has not despaired of us. He does not regret our creation, nor the investment of his own image in us. He has not changed his original plan of sending his only begotten son to live as a man in the splendid universe, edenic world, and blessed people he created. 

If anything, our sins have given him the opportunity to prove his goodness, majesty, and beauty far more than a sinless world might have. And so, like Mary of Bethany, we sit at his feet and wonder at his words.