Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him,
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Simon Peter said to him,
“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Jesus said to him,
“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all.”
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
You know you are about to die a horrible death. So what do you do? You wash your disciples' feet. The Jesus story is one of the most remarkable in history. It is no wonder Judas was completely disillusioned and turned Jesus in. This was no king on a white horse slashing through his enemies. And whilst he had the power of a superhero, there was no bringing the bad guys to their knees. Instead, Christ himself dies for us. He suffers for us. He frees us to live a life where we can know joy and face pain and suffering knowing that this will not be something to fear. Christ is the complete solution to living a life that transcends the mundial. I like the term “ego” for those aspects of the mundial that refer back to the person. Avoiding suffering and pain is an ego-driven end. It takes faith to embrace pain and suffering as a natural part of life.
ReplyDeleteThe other striking part of the reading is Peter’s response: Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” To which Jesus responds: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
It reminds me of the Richard Gillard Song that starts with the lines: “Brother sister let me serve you let me be like Christ to you…. Know that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too”. Christ showed us not only how to serve but to accept service from others. He seems to call us to serve each other and to build a life around that pursuit would surely meet both the big commandments - Love and love thy neighbour as thy self.