God Descends
Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
John 6:35-40 - Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“…I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Jesus states that He came down…to raise up. God doesn’t call us to be with Him by reaching Him ourselves. First, God descends. There is something special to this downward movement of God. We think of God as so lofty and high above us—and certainly He is. But God chooses to show us something different about Himself–something not yet known, something never expected. When we first see God after His birth, He appears as a tiny, poor, helpless, homeless baby lying in a feeding trough in a dirty cave. When we last see God before His death, He is beaten mercilessly, mocked, spat upon, naked, poor, helpless, homeless, hanging, bleeding, dying. God has descended to the depths of the misery of man…and He has plumbed that depth. In so doing He has reversed the power of sin and trampled death underfoot.
And it is here that He says, “It is finished.” Three days later, at the Resurrection, the earth cannot contain the magnitude of His glory. God’s descent into man’s misery ends with God’s ascent, with man, into God’s glory. “I came down,” says the Lord, “that I should raise.”
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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