What do you want? Hopefully, whatever Jesus wants. What does Jesus want? Whatever the Father wills.
Jesus tells us that he has come down from heaven not to do his own will, but the will of the one who sent him. He always does the will of the Father.
That means that it must be the will of the Father that his children do not hunger or thirst! Hunger and thirst do not express mere wants, they express real needs, without which our bodies cannot remain alive. Jesus says that our spiritual life has real needs too, and that he alone can fulfill those needs. Without Jesus, without the Bread of Life in the Eucharist, our life of communion with God cannot be sustained, and we will be spiritually languishing, even to death. But whoever comes to him will never hunger, and whoever believes in him will never thirst.
In John 6, Jesus refers to himself as the Bread of Life ELEVEN times! He is serious and intent that we understand this truth that without him as our Bread, we cannot sustain the life within us. We need him even more than we need food to sustain our bodies.
In all that Jesus says and does, we see the Father’s will. Jesus tells us to come to him and to believe in him. What will happen then? We will be received by him: “I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” Why? Because it is the Father’s will! “Everyone who…believes in him (will) have eternal life.” Why? Because it is the Father’s will! It is the will of the Father that Jesus come down from heaven to give himself as our very Food and Drink on the journey back to him, that we turn to Jesus and believe in him, and be raised up on the last day to spend eternity in the bliss of the Love that loved us first.
He wants us to rely on him, he wants to lead us back to the Father, he wants to raise us up on the last day, because this is the will of the Father. “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). When we approach Jesus in prayer, we are also before the Father. When we receive Communion, this is the gift of the Father. When we are forgiven in Confession, this is the will of the Father. In all things, we are reaching and praying to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit! This is the glory of the Resurrection!
¿Qué quieres? Ojalá, lo que Jesús quiera. ¿Qué quiere Jesús? Lo que el Padre quiera.
Jesús nos dice que ha bajado del cielo no para hacer su propia voluntad, sino la voluntad del que le envió. Siempre hace la voluntad del Padre.
¡Eso significa que debe ser la voluntad del Padre que sus hijos no tengan hambre ni sed! El hambre y la sed no expresan meros deseos, expresan necesidades reales, sin las cuales nuestros cuerpos no pueden permanecer vivos. Jesús dice que nuestra vida espiritual también tiene necesidades reales, y que solo él puede satisfacer esas necesidades. Sin Jesús, sin el Pan de Vida en la Eucaristía, nuestra vida de comunión con Dios no puede sostenerse, y nos debilitamos espiritualmente, hasta la muerte. Pero el que viene a él nunca tendrá hambre, y el que cree en él no tendrá sed jamás.
En Juan 6, Jesús se refiere a sí mismo como el Pan de Vida ¡ONCE veces! Está en serio y tiene la intención de que entendamos esta verdad de que sin Él como nuestro Pan, no podemos sostener la vida dentro de nosotros. Lo necesitamos incluso más de lo que necesitamos comida para sostener nuestros cuerpos.
En todo lo que Jesús dice y hace, vemos la voluntad del Padre. Jesús nos dice que vengamos a él y creamos en él. ¿Luego qué pasará? Nos recibirá: “al que viene a mí yo no lo echaré fuera”. ¿Por qué? ¡Porque es la voluntad del Padre! “todo el que vea al Hijo y crea en él, [tendrá] vida eterna” ¿Por qué? ¡Porque es la voluntad del Padre! Es la voluntad del Padre que Jesús baje del cielo para darse a sí mismo como nuestra comida y bebida mientras nos volvemos a él y creamos en él, y resucitemos en el último día para pasar la eternidad en la dicha del Amor que nos amó primero.
Quiere que confiemos en él, quiere llevarnos de regreso al Padre, quiere resucitarnos en el último día, porque esta es la voluntad del Padre. “El Padre y yo somos uno” (Jn 10,30). Cuando nos acercamos a Jesús en la oración, también estamos ante el Padre. Cuando recibimos la Comunión, este es el don del Padre. Cuando somos perdonados en la Confesión, esta es la voluntad del Padre. ¡En todas las cosas, estamos alcanzando y orando al Padre a través del Hijo en el Espíritu Santo! ¡Esta es la gloria de la Resurrección!
Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and seven grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is www.KathrynTherese.com
Feature Image Credit: vytas_sdb, cathopic.com/photo/23725-the-holy-trinity-sacred-heart