Living the Spirit of Christ’s Obedience
I intend, my God, to live, suffer and die with the same obedience Jesus Christ showed for me until his death on the cross. (OOCC, X, pp. 292 - 293; STA, 331)
Jesus, at every stage of his life here on earth, manifested a genuine spirit of obedience. He was obedient to the will and plan of his Father in his life, in his suffering and in his death. First, the life of Jesus on earth from its beginning to its end was due to the filial obedience of Jesus towards his Father. It is in obedience to the will of the Father that Jesus left his Godhead and became man born of a woman. His growing up in the home of Nazareth, his private life, his public ministry, his preaching and working of miracles were all done because his Father wanted those of him. Second, Jesus was obedient in his suffering. As a man, Jesus suffered at different levels. Jesus suffered from the hostility of the scribes and the Pharisees who were opposed to his mission. He also suffered from name calling, because for some Jesus was considered a glutton, a drunkard and a friend of sinners. These and many other sufferings he accepted in his life because his Father wanted them. Finally, Jesus was obedient to the Father in his death. In his agony, he struggled to accept his Father’s will that he had to die by way of crucifixion, but in obedience he accepted even his death and went through it courageously and joyfully. St. Vincent Pallotti was fascinated by the spirit of obedience lived out by Jesus. Like Jesus, he also wished to live, suffer and die in obedience to the plan of God in his personal life.
Am I like Jesus in my obedience? Do I have the spirit of obedience that Jesus manifested in his life? Am I ready to live, suffer and die in obedience to the Father?
I have food to eat of which you do not know … My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. (Jn. 4: 32, 34)