“Father, the hour has come” (Jn 17:1).
When we think of the wedding feast at Cana, we remember that the Lord first told His Mother that His hour had not yet come (Jn 2:4b). However, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, He finally performed the miracle of turning water into wine. Thus Jesus manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him (Jn 2:11).
But when Jesus says: “Father, the hour has come”, He means another hour: it is the hour of the accomplishment of His mission, and the Son raises His gaze to the Father.
If we want to be like our Saviour, we must learn from Him to do everything with our eyes fixed on the Father. This is His life! He does nothing without first securing Himself with the Father and uniting Himself completely to His holy Will, even to the hour of His death.
That is why Jesus can say: “Father, the hour has come”. He knew that He would return to Him with the prize of victory: humanity freed from the chains of Satan.
“Father, the hour has come”. How Jesus longed for it, and so did the Father!
Now nothing on earth can hold Him back. His mission is accomplished. The Father also knows this hour, prepared for so long. Now it has come! It is not the prodigal son who returns home, but the One who leads the prodigal sons home.
Jesus tried to tell His disciples that they should rejoice with Him in His return to the Father: “If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I” (Jn 14:28). They could not understand this at the time. But their hour also came, and then they were ready.
Our hour will come too. If we wait for it with our eyes fixed on the Heavenly Father, we will be able to say with confidence:
“Father, the hour has come”, and we shall return to the One who is waiting for us and whom our soul loves.