As children, we looked up to our fathers and learned many life lessons from them. Small children imitate their dads – copying how they gesture, eat, talk, and live. In the time of Jesus, sons followed the trades of their fathers, learning their skills by observing and imitating. This is true also with Jesus.
“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.”
When Jesus heals on the Sabbath, showing mercy and love just as his Father willed him, the religious leaders of the time chastised him for not following Jewish law. Our Father does not rest; he is sustaining us and all of creation at every moment. In Jesus, we see the face of God. Jesus was sent to earth to bring salvation to all of us. He not only raised the physically dead but the spiritually dead as well. No matter the condition of our soul and faith, Jesus brings us new life. With Our Father supporting us at each moment, Jesus being One with the Father, and continuing the Father’s work by bringing us new life – we are awakened to God’s love.
“The Father gave the Son, the Son gave his very self, the Holy Spirit became our habitual sanctifier…How grateful I should be to this kind Savior!” – Saint Peter Julian Eymard
Only two weeks of the Lenten season remain; how are we doing with the commitments we made on Wednesday? Take some time today and reflect on your Lenten journey. Let us reaffirm our commitments as we prepare for the risen Lord.
Prayer:
I pray to you, O Lord, for a time of your favor. In your great mercy, answer me, O God, with your salvation that never fails. Amen. (Entrance Antiphon, Psalm 68:1-4)