THE SAFETY OF RESTING IN NOTHING

V/​ I will turn to you O God, 

R/​ to God who gives joy to my youth

V/​ Give me the Wisdom that sits by your throne; 

R/ that I may be counted among your children

Lord, in your all-providential plan, you have led me to this moment to rediscover me in your Word and Wisdom. Aid me to make this time of meditation and prayer enriching, transforming, and liberating for my well-being and others. Amen!

THE SAFETY OF RESTING IN NOTHING

By Dr. Susan Muto

HOLY TUESDAY

Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 71(70):1-6, 5, 17; John 13:21-33, 36-38

15th April 2025

Today’s readings reveal three intertwining themes:

1. Chosen by God, however unworthy we may feel;

2. Trusting in God’s plan, however unlikely its fulfillment seems to be;

3. Overcoming every obstacle to cooperation with the grace of God, from lack of faith to outright betrayal.

Isaiah 49:1-6 confirms the mystery that before we came to be, we were already present in the mind and heart of God. Our essence preceded our existence, a truth confirmed by the words: “The Lord called me before I was born.”

Being chosen by God requires that we, like the prophets before us, listen with full attention to the mystery unfolding in, with, and through us. Only then may we know who we are and what God calls us to do. The word that comes from the mouth of the Servant will be “like a sharp sword.” It will be “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to judge the thoughts and situations of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). This prophecy challenges our trust in God’s plan. We long for its fulfillment, but is it possible?

The prophet breaks through this grid of despair, promising that every obstacle will be overcome. God’s servant will not only renew the covenant but grant salvation to the world. All creation will experience renewal thanks to the Holy One of Israel, whom God has chosen, consecrated, and commissioned to bring the Good News to the ends of the earth.

Psalm 71 expresses the experience of an aged believer acknowledging his dependence on God for everything, from relieving him of oppression by the wicked to being his rock and his fortress. Who else would he praise but God from his birth to his death?

In The Spiritual Canticle (Stanza 25.2), Saint John of the Cross offers three reasons to live in continual praise of the Lord. The bride praises the Beloved for the sweetness he gives her “that is so efficacious it makes [souls] run along the road to perfection.” The second reason has to do with his visits “of love by which he suddenly inflames [souls] in love.” The third concerns the abundance of charity he infuses in them…” These gifts cause the spirit “to be elevated and to burst forth in praise and delightful affections of love before God,” echoing the elation of the psalmist, who praises God’s righteousness and proclaims God’s wondrous deeds.

In the Gospel reading from John, Chapter 13, we meet Jesus under more somber circumstances. The God of glory is revealed as troubled in spirit because one of his trusted apostles will betray him. The one who took the piece of bread dipped in the dish would be Judas. So chagrined was Peter by what Jesus had foretold that he pledged never to betray him and even to lay down his life for him. What a boastful and idle promise that was! The Lord knew that before the cock crowed, he would deny him three times.

Saint John of the Cross articulates the lesson we ought to take away from this exchange between Jesus and Peter. He tells us that only when we admit we have nothing to boast about and operate instead from the center of our humility will God be our All in all. Resting gratefully at the feet of Jesus, “nothing [will tire us] by pulling [us] up and nothing [will oppress us] by pushing [us] down.” In his Sayings of Light and Love, Saint John offers a fitting summary to today’s readings: “To be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but on the greatness of its humility.”