LIVING IN THE FATHER’S PRESENCE
I have a confession to make. My prayer life isn’t nearly what it ought to be. I get lost in my own wants, what I think is fair, what I think God should do, what I expect the world to be like.
I long to be more like Jesus: trusting the Father in everything. Trusting even when the whole world has gone upside down. These words from our Lord on the cross come at a time when there was no fairness. No equity. No justice.
Jesus had been betrayed. Scorned. Abused. Beaten. And now, at the end of his earthly life, he is hanging on a cross so that he can die a painful death.
What would I do in Jesus’ place?
What would you do?
Jesus prayed. In Gethsemane, the prayer was “not my will but yours,” Here, after the penalty had been paid, and the Father’s will had been done, after the injustice, unfairness, rejection, and suffering and before imminent death, Jesus asks the Father to receive him, according to his good and perfect will.
Jesus has torn the curtain separating his people from the Holy of Holies. All of his people now have a place at the table of the Wedding Feast. And as we, his followers, wait for his return, he commands us to care for the poor, the needy, and the downtrodden, and to work for justice. As God shows his care and love to all through us, we invite all to the wedding feast. As Jesus’ followers, we live in the Father’s presence as he graciously provides. And we trust, commending everything about ourselves, including our work on behalf of the poor, to his good, gracious, and perfect will.
Father, help me to live more and more in your presence, to keep you always in my thoughts and my actions. Use me as a tool to make your will come true in the world. And help me, Father, to trust you completely in all things. Amen.
