Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NABRE)
What a challenging verse this is! Spoken to his closest friends at the Last Supper, Jesus explains that he is the way to heaven, the truth that sets people free from sin, and the source of eternal life. These are the things we ache for in this life. We find in Jesus the simplest of answers to all of our greatest questions and yearnings.
Add to it another statement Jesus made to a crowd of followers not long before: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day." (John 6:44)
These two statements seem to extend one another even though they come from different passages of John's gospel. No one can come to Jesus unless...the Father initiates it. No one can come to the Father unless...they first put their faith in Jesus.
When we learn about Jesus, when we hear about him, when we are challenged and made to feel uncomfortable because we haven't yet chosen to yield our trust to this unseen person, in these moments and in so many more, God the Father is initiating a relationship with us! What fatherly patience he has with us! How often does he call us? How often do we ignore him?
Jesus tells us to think of God as our Father and I can't help but picture my own father calling me home for dinner from the front steps of our house when I was a child. Sometimes, I would pretend not to hear him so I could go on playing with my friends. Yet, despite my effort to hide, his persistent calls always drew me home.
Today, I will pray for all who would rather not head home just yet, confident that God's call will bring them home in time.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, a slave with many "masters" who finally came to address God as "master," pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment