The scene is the Last Supper, Judas has just left to betray Jesus, and Jesus is preparing the disciples for when he is no longer with them. What is Jesus talking about when he speaks of being glorified? He is saying that what is coming “very soon” is his agony in the garden, arrest, torture, a mockery of a trial, and crucifixion, given in love, and that this will glorify both himself and God.
And he is saying more. The result of the great evil of Jesus’ cruel death is not more evil, but the further gifting of God in raising Christ from the dead, and, with this, the promise of God’s desire for all his children – to be drawn back into the dance of love of our Holy Trinitarian God, to be united with God.
Whatever glorifies Jesus also glorifies the Father, and whatever glorifies the Father also glorifies the Son - for
they are One. Jesus’ words are the Father’s words, and his deeds are the Father’s deeds, and his story is the Father’s story. Jesus is the icon of the Father. Does Jesus help me to know the mystery of God a little more?
Jesus has such compassion for his disciples that, at the Last Supper, he attempts to warn them that his forthcoming death is not failure, but what will fulfill his mission to bring all God’s children and all of God’s
creation back to God to glorify them. (Romans 8:21) This is the promise of our glory in Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. This is the depth of God’s love: resurrection for Jesus, and the gift of resurrection for all those who freely choose this in love. We are a resurrection people, glorified in God and awaiting the fullness of this. Does this give me a ‘fresh heart’?
What is my sense of God’s love for me?
Do I desire
to be drawn into the embrace of the love of our Creator, Redeemer and Holy Spirit of Love?
Reflections by Kath Knowles
