JESUS AS GOD: FATHER AND MOTHER
“Can
a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her
womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”
These famous lines from today’s First Reading make us ponder on God’s
affectionate attitude toward us. Every time we oppose His will through
our sinfulness, every time we offend Him through our misdeeds and
offenses — these are all affronts to God’s tender compassion for us.
Jesus’ discourse against the hostile Jews in today’s Gospel ought to be
required reflection for us. As the evangelist John notes, the Jews’
opposition to Jesus is no longer based on the grounds of His breaking
the Sabbath. For Jesus’ enemies, the whole thing intensifies because He
is now calling “God His own father, making Himself equal to God.” They
accuse Him of blasphemy.
We can’t blame those Jews back then. If it’s just those accusations,
then they do have a case. Jesus broke the law against the Sabbath in His
effort to restore its real meaning and original intent, as against mere
compliance or a mere rule to be followed. Jesus, too, made Himself
equal to the Father — for after all, He is.
As Jesus is truly one with and equal to God the Father, He too is a
“mother” — one who truly cares with love and compassion, forgiving sinners,
healing the sick, and nurturing the weak with His Body and Blood as
food and nourishment. If that is the case, we are back to the verse from
Isaiah: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the
child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”
As the verses from Isaiah continue after our First Reading, Jesus has
carved our names on the palm of His hand — a gesture that says He has
not forgotten us and He sacrificed Himself for us. It was the nails of
His crucifixion that did it. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTION: Have you experienced God in your life as a “mother”?
Lord, help me to always remember that I have a Father — and a Mother — in You.
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