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I put my trust in You, Lord

March 26, 2024

Isaiah 49:1-7 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 | John 12:20-36 | Psalm 71:1-14

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.

This verse from today’s Psalm reminded me that Holy Week is all about Death … Jesus’ death. And, only after that, Resurrection. 

For humans, there is no more wicked oppressor than the fearful dagger of death. At Gethsemane, Jesus, in His human incarnation, experienced this fear and anguish and cried out to His Father to spare Him. And then, through faith, He left his fate to his Father’s will. But how can we mere mortals have the faith of Jesus in our inevitable moment? 

It seems to me it was… as the eternally Spiritual Being He is… Jesus had the unwavering faith, that after Golgotha, He would be released from his human trappings and return to His place as the Son… as the Triune God.

But, again, I would ask, what about us? Whence our faith? 

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on this question after reading these words of the Theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” 

What if, long before God created our human body in His image, He created us as spiritual beings to be His eternal spiritual companions? Perhaps, in believing this, as Jesus showed us, we might also see our death as the moment of our return to this role in God’s plan for us. 

Perhaps in this belief, we can find the faith that God will keep us from the clutches of whatever wicked oppressor we may encounter as we await our return to His intended companionship. For me, as I approach that moment, uncertain of when or where or how, I find this a most comforting thought.

Mike Cerullo