I do just as the Father has commanded me

TUESDAY 12 MAY (Lk Jn 14,27-31)

Jesus can act just as the Father has commanded him, because he is always moved and guided by the Holy Spirit, who has alighted on him with all his divine essence and all his operation: “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips” (Is 11,1-5). This prophecy is fulfilled after his baptism in the Jordan River: “After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”” (Lk 3,21-22).

In the synagogue of Nazareth Jesus reveals the fulfillment of the prophecy and also the mission that the Father wants him to accomplish: He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”” (Lk 4,16-21). That Jesus always acts from the will of the Father and never from the will of men, is revealed immediately: “At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea”  (Lk 4,41-44). It is very pure truth: Jesus was never from the will of a single man, not even from the will of Mary or Joseph. He did and said everything through full, total and perfect obedience to the Father.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.

Jesus does not suffer passion and death by crucifixion because sin and darkness are superiour to him, to his light, wisdom, fortitude and intelligence. The world has no power over him. Jesus voluntarily offers himself to the passion to attest to the world how great his love for the Father is. The Father asks him to love him above his own life, consecrating all his life to him and the Son obeys. The whole life of Jesus was only obedience. Satan and men daily tempt him so that he separates himself from obedience to his Father’s will and he makes himself either from his own or from the will of men or from the will of Satan. Jesus never fell into a single temptation. Not a single thought, not a single work has ever sprung from his heart or from his compassion. All in him was from the heart of the Father and from his eternal love of salvation and redemption for men. This truth of Christ must be the truth of each of his disciples. If the disciple passes from the heart of Christ to his heart and from the will of the Master to his will, it is the end of the fulfillment of the mystery of salvation. He will love with a human love, but without salvation.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, always make us from the heart and thought of Christ Jesus.