Readings: Is 49:1-6, Ps 71, Jn 13:21-33, 36-38 (Link to USCCB)
Jesus was made glorious before all
people, but the glory of Jesus mirrors the glory of Israel.
Throughout this Lent Scripture has told us the story of Israel. We
see that the glory of Israel was not only exposed through miracles,
power, and victory, but that her glory was brought about by weakness,
sorrow, and betrayal as well.
Jesus, the new Israel, is the same. His
glory was revealed through agony, through betrayal, through ridicule,
through torture, through abandonment, through injustice, through
suffering, and through dying as if he were a disgraced criminal. It
was because of these events that the Roman solider could say
“Truly this man was the Son of God.”
In the moment it may seem as if our
suffering is worthless or that our efforts have been in vain.
Scripture teaches us to have hope, that we must be like a farmer who,
when he plants his crop, is dependent on the rain and must trust it
to bring forth the fruit of his labor.
Our recompense is with God and those
who persevere with him will be blessed. But even if we should fail
God is ready to accept us again—he suffered all things for our sake
and he won't abandon us, even if he leaves us for a time or we leave
him for a time.
Trust in him and do not think that we
have spent our strength uselessly. Rather, look upon this cross this
holy week, and see that there is even glory there.
It is interesting when you consider that the first man in all the Gospels to recognize and affirm Jesus' true nature was the centurion of the Gospel of Mark.
ReplyDeleteI think it speaks to an interesting issue of identity (or looking for an identity) that the early Christian writers (at the time of Mark) were facing, especially at that juncture when the generation that had had first-contact with Jesus and the Apostles were starting to die.