"If only they knew how much I love them, Father. If only they understood what unconditional love really means." "If only."
We don't find the quote above in Sacred Scripture. What we do find is that Jesus is convinced of the Father's love for him and that whatever God's Will is, that is what Jesus always chooses. Even when "the Will" is "the Cross." Lots of us question God when this mysterious Will is not something we wanted. Lots of us think we are not strong enough to do God's Will when it involves suffering that seems too much to bear.
There is no written words of Jesus saying "If only" to the Father. There are words of trust and abandonment. There are words of love and commitment. There are also words denoting the struggle Jesus had with embracing the Will of his Father, especially when it conflicted with his anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus must have pushed himself to the limit as he stumbled and fell on the road to Calvary. Where did he get the strength? What kept him going? How could he be so faithful, knowing that some of us would never care about what he did? What's love got to do with it?
I pray for something I cannot give myself. That "something" is the Christ-like conviction that I am loved unconditionally and that, as the Pauline text tells us, nothing, not even my past, present or future sufferings, can ever separate me from the love of God, poured out for me in Christ Jesus.
As Holy Week enfolds, I bring my small, medium and extra-large sufferings to the Cross. I show them to Christ and I wait in silence to hear what he wants to tell me about them. I listen to him ask if I know what unconditional love is. And I wonder: Do I have unconditional love for God, or is this love thing only a one-way deal?
A blessed Holy Week to all who read and pray these words!
We don't find the quote above in Sacred Scripture. What we do find is that Jesus is convinced of the Father's love for him and that whatever God's Will is, that is what Jesus always chooses. Even when "the Will" is "the Cross." Lots of us question God when this mysterious Will is not something we wanted. Lots of us think we are not strong enough to do God's Will when it involves suffering that seems too much to bear.
There is no written words of Jesus saying "If only" to the Father. There are words of trust and abandonment. There are words of love and commitment. There are also words denoting the struggle Jesus had with embracing the Will of his Father, especially when it conflicted with his anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus must have pushed himself to the limit as he stumbled and fell on the road to Calvary. Where did he get the strength? What kept him going? How could he be so faithful, knowing that some of us would never care about what he did? What's love got to do with it?
I pray for something I cannot give myself. That "something" is the Christ-like conviction that I am loved unconditionally and that, as the Pauline text tells us, nothing, not even my past, present or future sufferings, can ever separate me from the love of God, poured out for me in Christ Jesus.
As Holy Week enfolds, I bring my small, medium and extra-large sufferings to the Cross. I show them to Christ and I wait in silence to hear what he wants to tell me about them. I listen to him ask if I know what unconditional love is. And I wonder: Do I have unconditional love for God, or is this love thing only a one-way deal?
A blessed Holy Week to all who read and pray these words!
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