Heb 5:7-9
In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Jn 12:20-33
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me. “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.
My Reflections on Heb 5:7-9
What really hit me today was the fact that Jesus himself had to suffer so much. He did not spare his only son from suffering. He himself had to scream under tears in his prayers....
When I was younger I prayed to God but I hardly struggled or fought with God it was always a pretty nice innocent conversation I had regarding the next exam or anything of that nature.
Now that I’m rediscovering my faith again as an adult I really fight in my prayers, I fight with my rational mind and limiting beliefs or my doubts...
I fight with all the pain that there is (inside of me and) in this world it just deeply hurts and disturbs me and I do not understand it. And I keep asking him: WHY?
Jesus had to learn obedience through his suffering. Maybe you and I as well?
It is just baffling to me that the Son of God & Men had to suffer at all…
I feel like he should stand over that, like a powerful being, who is unaffected.
But I also understand the necessity for it because in his suffering there lies the true beauty of God, the true love is only unraveled when you see his compassion for humanity.
Like why would a father torture his son? How can God love humanity so much that he gives this burden to his son / to himself - as God as human form…
He knew that suffering was the only way to leave a massive impact on humanity - a message that would travel centuries and more… It is 2000 years ago, but the power is not stopping. What is that? It can only be a deep manifestation of truth. Nothing else would last so long. A deception or a lie would be recognized after so long right? But this message hits the deepest core of being a human. As Erwin McManus put it so beautifully, it is like a reminder of who we were meant to be… What it really means to be human again. This message will never, never ever get old. Love has no limit so there is simply no limit for this message, it will live beyond you and me.
If we are able to see the truth in the message and ultimately the truth in ourselves that this message wants to show us - is up to us, but the message will remain I believe.
It affects me deeply to see this mixture of the divine & the mundane.
This mixture of pain filled with tears & love with devotion.
It was the only way to have this impact, I’m sure. If he’d been unaffected by everything he would not be relatable to you and me. We simply couldn’t relate. The beauty in his being is that you and I CAN indeed relate with Jesus, it is like God gave us a way to connect to him in an easy way.
A way that is accessible for ANYONE, not just people who study scripture or meditate forever alone in the forest to seek the divine. No, it is for daily life. Like a guide that will automatically get you closer to the source.
I imagine it at this moment like a bridge.
Imagine one world completely divine, perfect, with no flaws, only love.
And then this world, suffering, illnesses, hate, etc.
He is like a guide that gets you from this one to the other one.
He hits your deepest emotions with words with actions that are nothing but the reflection of divine energy on earth and because he is human you can have empathy and understand the divine language on a very deep emotional level, the only level that really matters as a human.
Sure mentally understanding it helps, but relating to the suffering is another level of connection.
My Reflections on Jn 12:20-33
In John 12 I was so amazed by his reaction to the Greeks coming...
Every normal person would feel honored that some people travel so far for you - right? I mean I would...
But he does not react that way at all. He who knows what God has planned for him is troubled by the fact that his fate is approaching rapidly towards him.
But instead of crippling under the pressure of this heavy burden he is strong in his faith and knows that this is his purpose.
Can you imagine?
I mean what if your and my purpose here on earth is one with a lot of suffering involved?
What if that is the will of God?
Can I just bow to that? Is my connection strong enough to surrender completely like Jesus?
I don’t know. I feel too weak for that...
I would want to talk with God, being mad at him, like:
“No No, this cannot be my fate, I have other things planned for myself. I want to prosper. I deserve that and that. It’s not fair.”
Look at him on the other hand...
It’s so hard for me to not forget that he was also a human!
So yeah, it would have been natural (in my eyes) to fight this fate a little.
The only thing he says is: “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
I mean how can you be so surrendered to the divine plan, so aligned with suffering, so aligned with your mission?
It is so incredibly beautiful to see a person devoting themselves to God completely.
Every nun & priest out there, I have the deepest respect for you. I admire you. You are a true inspiration. Giving your life 100% to God & Jesus is just sooo hard for me to swallow.
I have built a personality for years, with goals & aspirations. Just giving it all to him is something I truly struggle with.
In fact just today in church I have prayed for more support in surrendering to his will.
One part of me desperately wants to let himself fall into the fate he has planned but other parts are fighting this longing heavily.
These parts want to stay in control and build MY dream life the way I HAVE PLANNED it, not him…
Oh man….....
It doesn’t even matter if you believe in Jesus as being the Son of God if you are spiritual, and if you believe in the universe, tao, or any other name there is, this character trait of Jesus has to be inspiring for you.
He lets the Universe/God decide his fate and surrenders completely to the “flow of life”....
(as Michael Singer would put it)
People (including me) tend to be very extreme with Jesus, either he is the Son of God, the savior of all humankind or he was a nobody who held nice speeches.
I’m starting to think more and more it does not even matter if you believe him to be the Son of God or not his character, message of ethics & what it means to be human are undoubtedly the foundation of many of today’s belief systems.
(Great book on that: The Genius Of Jesus by Erwin McManus, where he explains the historical background on how Jesus is the foundation of human rights, democracy, and other important ethics.)
To study this person and to try to mirror his character to maximize your own potential as a human being could be simply rational…
And this faith, this trust in his fate is one of those traits that I want to have more in my life...
(Note: I'm new at this whole sharing my thoughts on all this stuff. If I make mistakes here, don't hesitate to correct me if I quote wrong or anything. If I sound like I'm trying to force my views and beliefs on anyone, I'm sorry, I just try to share my thoughts & help spread the truth that I believe to be true.)
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