A Father Who Is Faithful
by Fr. David M. Knight
March 26, 2024
Tuesday of Holy Week (Week VI of Lent)
Lectionary No. 258
Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 71; John 13:21-38
"Now is the Son of Man glorified..." John 13:31
From the cross, Jesus saw little in his life but failure. He had failed to convert Jerusalem, Capernaum, even his home town (Matthew 11:23; 23:37; Luke 4:29). His disciples had deserted, leaving him alone (Matthew 26:56; John 16:32). He felt his Father had abandoned him (Matthew 27:46). But Isaiah gave words to his faith:
Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet… I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord! (3:3ff.)
He knew: “The Lord called me from birth. From my mother’s womb he gave me my name.”
And so do we. Reborn and given our name in Baptism, we have the same relationship with the Father that Jesus has. We are “in Christ,” and “in him” call God “Abba, Father” as Jesus does (Mark 14:36; Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:15). Like Paul, every one of us can say “The Father set me apart before I was born and was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him” (Galatians 1:15).
With that awareness comes confidence. We may be unfaithful—Jesus told Peter “the cock will not crow before you deny me three times”—but Jesus says, “No one will snatch out of my hand those my Father has given me.” Because “no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (see John 10:28).
Our Father will see us through.
ACTION: Anathematize discouragement.
PRAYER: “I will sing of your salvation.”
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
