Honor Him

March 5

Readings: Is 49:8-15; Jn 5:17-30

"Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." Jn 5:23

How would you honor someone? Awards? Applause? Certificates? Banquets?
The root of the Hebrew word for honor (kabod) literally means heavy or weighty. So, to honor someone is to give weight or to grant a person a position of respect or authority.

"Honoring" involves how we think, but our way of thinking is expressed by how we act. So, in response to John 5, we are to honor the Son with action. But what action are we to take? How can we honor God?

Our first reading from Isaiah gives us an idea. The Lord tells His people, Zion, that they will be restored - He will not forget them. To illustrate His love, He gives the image of a tender mother and her infant. Yet, despite God's promises, Zion continues to carry on in gloom and despair. They don't "let God be God," as a popular saying goes, and trust in His word.

Saint Faustina tells us that what Jesus welcomes most is our trust in His goodness and mercy. Again, the image of a tender mother appears. "Oh, how painful it is to Me," Jesus tells her, "that souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. ... I love them tenderly and sincerely, and they distrust Me. ... In order that you may know at least some of My pain, imagine the most tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while those children spurn her love" (Diary, 1447).

Do we honor Jesus? Do we listen to His voice, trust Him, and obey Him? This is the Father's will.

Lord Jesus Christ, You are Lord of my life, and I surrender to You every part of my life. May I honor You in all that I do. Amen.

Scripture
Phil 2:9-11

Catechism
449

Diary of St. Faustina
245, 1075, 1826
agGB

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