8 October 2014 - father's embrace

Sitting at the feet of Jesus is the better part. He longs to share himself with us. And the most essential and deepest part of himself that he can share is his relationship with his Father. We read that "no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him" (cf. Mat. 11:27).

This relationship makes a real difference for Jesus himself.  Even as a child his joy is to be in his Father's house (cf. Luk. 2:49). Later, when they try to make merchants make it a marketplace he takes it personally and chases them out. His relationship with his Father is more vital to Jesus than food. He says, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work." It goes deep. The " Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise" (cf. Joh. 5:19).

As he shares this relationship with us we become his brothers and sisters. We begin to share in a partial way the same relationship which Jesus enjoys in fullness. "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

This is the goal of the prayer Jesus teaches us. It begins with that word: Father. It acknowledges, hallows, and treasures that name. It continues by embracing the will and plan of the Father, that which is the hidden food to which Jesus refers. It acknowledges our daily needs and then stops worrying about them. "For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all" (cf. Mat. 6:32). And it insists the sins not separate us from the Father or from our brothers and sisters. We are family. We are to be one even as Jesus and the Father are one precisely because the Father's heart is wounded by disunity among his children.

This is why Paul has the boldness to address Peter when "he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised." Paul is bold because he knows that the Father wants Jews and Gentiles to come together as one. He wants us all to be united by the Spirit in the bond of peace (cf. Eph. 4:3).

This prayer of Jesus can make a real difference for us. It can spare us from being overcome by the "final test" by the grace it imparts. When we face such tests it allows commend our own spirits into the hands of the Father as Jesus does. On our own we are not strong enough to face such trials. But with the grace that is offered to us we can find deliverance and strength.

We have a Father in heaven. Today Jesus teaches us how to embrace that relationship. He teaches us to receive all that the Father offers, all that he himself receives. Ultimately this is nothing less than becoming partakers of the divine nature (cf. 2 Pet 1:4).

Praise the LORD, all you nations,
glorify him, all you peoples!
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.