Jesus, Obedient to the Father

~~~ Is. 49:8-15 ~~~ Psalm 145 ~~~ John 5:17-30 ~~~

We would all do well to remember that we 'live and breathe, and move' only through God. Every morning when we rise our first breath taken to greet the new day is only through God. Even Jesus openly proclaimed 'the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing'. Of course Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, but it was his humanity acknowledges his obedience to the Father.

Jesus is trying to get us to understand how connected he is with the Father. Jesus, while part of the Triune God, came to do the will of the Father. We still have difficulty grasping that concept today. Too many people today want only to do what 'they' want to do. There is no concept of doing the will of the Father.

In today's gospel, Jesus uses 'Amen, amen' three times. Three times he tries to get our attention because he knew that what he was saying was profound. He also knew that we, humans, would have a hard time with the concept.

Sometimes I admit I am a little jealous of Jesus, because he had no doubt as to what the will of the Father was...he had a direction. I often find myself vacillating between what I think could be God's will and what most likely is just my own preferences bubbling to the surface. So I tend to look for signs (oops, we have been warned about looking for signs) that I am at least making decisions that are on the path.

So here is my rule of thumb...when I make a decision I first pray asking for guidance from the Holy Spirit. If the decision does not feel right or I do not feel at peace then I return to prayer. I wish I could say this is fail proof, but I cannot. Perhaps that says more about me than the validity of the process.

It takes a certain amount of humility and trust to always do the will of the Father. It takes being committed to listen to his voice over and ever again. It often involves stepping out of your usual comfort zone. It can even require blind faith.

The words from Isaiah today of help, restoration, satisfaction are words of encouragement and comfort. "For the Lord comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted." Are you available to receive this gift of mercy?

We will never be forgotten by God he is consistently near to all who call on him. He desires to meet all our needs. He wants to lead us out of darkness into the light. He wants us to be refreshed by the streams of water.

Jesus wants all of this for us because of his desire to do the will of the Father...Jesus truly is equal to the Father in all things. He was sent to show us the human qualities of the Father. For all good things come from him.