When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to
them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any
messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. John
13:16-17
Piety
Amen, Amen I say to
you. In our piety, let us open our ears
to hear the words of Jesus spoken to us.
In our study, let those words resonate and echo in our minds, on our
lips and in our hearts so that they are translated for us into apostolic
action. Amen.
Study
Right there…in one phrase
of the Bible…directly from the mouth of Jesus is the entire Cursillo method.
If you understand the
washing of the feet, you will understand that no messenger is greater than the one who sent him. The notes to the New American Bible
explain that this is from the Greek “apostolos.” This is the only time that word is used in the Gospel of John and it
must be there for an emphatic reason.
“No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his
master.” (Matthew 10:24) The disciples are not greater than
Jesus. Jesus is not greater than the
Father. Jesus kneels in the foot washing,
he lowers himself again to the below the rank of humanity from his divinity. This humble act is what we are called to
emulate. This humble act reveals how far
the Father and the Son will stoop to show us that we are loved by them.
Often
in studying a certain passage, I find that it is repeated in one form or
another in two other Gospels. This line
from John 13:20 is echoed in all four Gospels.
Like John used apostolos only once for emphasis, the other way to
flag something is by repeating it often.
If this was so important as to be repeated from John 13:20 to Matthew 10:40 to Mark 9:37 and finally to Luke 9:48, it must be REALLY REALLY
VERY VERY integral to the core message Jesus taught.
Action
Blessed
are you if you humble yourself like the Lord and wash the feet of those whom
you are sent to serve. Whose feet are you
called to wash?
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