Tag: disciples

The Father’s Beloved Son

The Father’s Beloved Son

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.

Matthew 17: 5b

As Jesus revealed His divinity at the Transfiguration, the three disciples with Him heard the Father speak these words. In much the same way as He operates in our lives, the Lord didn’t give them perfect understanding of why they were chosen, what this revelation might mean, or how this was intended to sustain them through the suffering to come. Yet this mountaintop experience must have been held closely to the hearts of Peter, James, and John as they followed Jesus down the mountain and heard Him command them to tell no one at that time. This experience of Moses and Elijah alongside a bright cloud, the Father’s voice, and the veil of ordinariness being lifted from the person of Christ must have been quietly mused over by the disciples.

Did they look at Jesus a little differently? Did they wonder if He might again lower the veil and reveal His divinity to more people? Whatever specific questions they pondered, I am certain this experience was often in their thoughts as they followed Jesus.

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

In the moment, these words were likely easy to believe. They are on a mountain removed and the experience is all-encompassing, a dramatic sensation for all of the senses. This man who performed numerous miracles, spoke with wisdom and authority, and appeared driven and purposeful would be easy to see as one loved by God. Of course, they would listen to Him.

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Yet from this moment forward, Jesus walks toward the cross, enduring disdain and betrayal. In the agony in the garden, when Jesus asks for what is God’s will to be different than what is laid before Him, the disciples perhaps struggle to see Jesus as beloved or to recognize in this moment the Father’s pleasure. Jesus being arrested, handed over to the authorities, scourged, crowned with thorns: this is the love of the Father? The heavy cross laid upon His shoulders, the mocking and ridicule, the nails driven through His hands and feet: this is the Father’s pleasure?

As Jesus is hurriedly laid in the tomb after resting in His mother’s arms, it is a bleak and despairing moment for the disciples. Do Peter, James, or John even remember the Transfiguration in this moment? Do they hear the Father’s words, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him“? Do they wonder now how they can listen to the Father or the Son? Do they wonder if they even want to listen if this is what happens to God’s beloved?

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

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Like A Lamb in the Midst of Wolves

Like A Lamb in the Midst of Wolves

In Luke 10, Jesus speaks of how He is sending His disciples, the few laborers for the abundant harvest, out like lambs in the midst of wolves. When I heard this at Mass several days ago, an image leapt into my mind which has been with me ever since. I imagined a little lamb, still with softly spun small coils of wool, walking down a path surrounded by wolves, growling menacingly at the tender lamb. Yet the lamb moved forward, head held high, and seemed unfazed by the danger that lurked around it.

I considered how vulnerable this lamb was, unable to defend itself from the predators and with little strength to offer on its own behalf. And I thought that perhaps that was exactly the point. Maybe this image of the lamb in the midst of wolves is exactly what Jesus desires for us. This little lamb is aware of its weakness and it is likely this knowledge of its weakness which is its greatest strength. If it fixated on the vicious wolves that surround it, the sheep could never move forward. It is rather gentle by nature, with no claws or sharp teeth to maim an attacker. The lamb surrounded by wolves finds its strength in knowing that the Shepherd will provide.

The moments or situations in life where I have known God placed me in a particular situation, and yet I felt wholly unqualified for the task at hand, are the situations where I have needed to rely entirely on the Lord. In this reliance, there is a strength that is given. I don’t know that I was a better teacher ten years ago, but I was far more likely to storm Heaven prior to a difficult class or to beg for guidance in the midst of students’ questions. It isn’t that I don’t ask for God to help me now, but I’m more confident in my own abilities than I used to be. Yet the littleness, the weakness I felt as a new teacher was also a source of strength. I’ve experienced the same in different ministries or experiences which forced me to offer the Lord unrestricted access, imploring Him to provide in the places where I saw an abundant lack.

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