Wednesday of the 4th Week of Lent
Isaiah 49:8-15 | Psalm 144(145):8-9,13b-14,17-18 | John 5:17-30
I can do nothing by myself;
I can only judge as I am told to judge,
and my judging is just,
because my aim is to do not my own will,
but the will of him who sent me.’ (John 5:30)
It’s easy to recognize the people who do things with little will.
They’ll be radiating an air of “I don’t want to be here, but I was told I needed to do this, so don’t bother me, and we’ll be fine”.
They’ll put in only enough effort to get the job done to minimum standards, and clearly lack enthusiasm.
They’ll quickly abandon their work thereafter, instead of taking some measure of pride in a job well done.
We all know people like this in our lives: colleagues, service personnel, perhaps even clergy. Decades of ministering to people, who are themselves going through the Christian motions, can sap the energy and will out of pretty much anyone.
But that’s when our will is involved, the will that says “I’m not getting anything useful out of this, so don’t expect much from me”.
When the Father’s will comes to the fore, it’s quite a different story. To consciously align our will with God’s makes our actions that much smoother, when “what if this happens, or that doesn’t happen?” is replaced with “here I am, Lord, to do Thy will, so lead me where Thou wilt”.
Jesus Himself makes it plain in today’s Gospel, and in many other instances in scripture, what His posture towards the Father was, and what our own posture should be:
Lord, Your will be done. Give us the will to do Your will with all our heart, and soul, and strength. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are Yours, now and forever. Amen.