334th Meditation
“If you loved me you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I” (Jn 14:28b).
Jesus introduces His disciples to a different logic, which they can only gradually assimilate. The greatest thing for our Lord Jesus Christ is to return to His Father.
Jesus wants the disciples’ sorrow for the loss of His physical presence in their midst to be eclipsed by the joy that He has fulfilled His mission and that He will now receive again the glory that He had with the Father “before ever the world existed” (Jn 17:5).
In meditating on the Lord’s joy and internalizing His victory, personal sadness can be restrained and take a back seat to the greater dimension. Is it not proper to love to wish the best for the beloved? Is it not the essence of love to have a share in the beloved’s joy, in his infinite happiness? Is this not precisely what the Lord gives His disciples to understand?
Can we even get an idea of Jesus’ immense joy at returning to His Father, who is greater than He? Can we imagine the Father’s joy that finally His beloved Son, whom He Himself sent into the world, returns to Him after having fulfilled His mission?
If we internalize these words of the Lord, our hearts will be enlarged. Without overlooking the pain, we can gain the right spiritual insight. We can also apply this to mourning the death of loved ones. Is it not their return home, to the great joy of their existence? Will they not be welcomed with open arms by our Heavenly Father? Can they not now rest from their works? Is it not right to rejoice with them rather than to sink in the sadness that one may experience?
Let us learn true love from the Lord and become aware that God’s eternity awaits us, towards which we are all on our way.