Much of today’s Gospel passage from John is focused on Jesus comparing who he is to who Abraham is. Jesus says that Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith, is happy to see God enter into our world in the person of Jesus Christ.
This Jesus sacrifices himself for us on the cross. He gives his life for our redemption.
But there is one part of today’s passage that can easily be missed.
“If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me,…”
Jesus did not come to do his own thing. He came to do the Father’s will. Completely. In everything. It means nothing if he does something to glorify himself. It means everything that he comes to fulfill the mission given to him by the Father.
Yes, Jesus sacrificed for us. Yes, he shows us the Father. But he also shows us the Way. A way that is completely aligned with the will of the Father.
That is also the way for us. To align our will with that of the Father. We are called to set aside our own desires and plans. We are called to simply follow the will of the Father.
For most of us, that is a pretty significant paradigm shift. We are so immersed in the demands of our state in life. We struggle if we try to step back and to ask, “What does God want of me in this moment?” It can be difficult to accept our current reality, whatever that might be. It can be tough to realize that it is impossible to go back in time and make the changes in our past that would bring us a different present situation.
But, if we can accept where we are, it can be easier to discern our path forward from that point. Not that we do not try to make changes that would be helpful. But we focus ourselves by asking the question, “where does God want me to go from here?”