"Choose Belief, Choose Service, Choose to Love" by Beth DeCristofaro
So, Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and
said, “Fellow children of Israel and you others who are God-fearing, listen. The
God of this people Israel chose our ancestors. I have found David, son of
Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish. From this
man’s descendants, God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a
savior, Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to
all the people of Israel, and as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What
do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not
worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet’. (Acts 13:16, 22-25)
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. From now
on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe
that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives
me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. (John 13:16-17)
Piety
O Lord, you who loves the poor, open me to
believing, to serving, to loving, to spreading your peace more each day.
Study
During this CoVid19-forced distancing, I find
myself short of temper. Read the paper, my frustration rises. Clean the dishes for the umpteenth time, and
my annoyance takes hold. Delivered
dinner doesn’t arrive, and I feel angrily let down. Read anti-vax or conspiracy
theories on Facebook, and my rage begins to take hold. See photos of protestors holding guns, and I sense
that hate roils at the edge of my fear. And I live with enough food, supplies,
and shelter to be comfortable.
At the same time, I can take in the presence
of God when the chiming of birds brings small joys. Walking in a beautiful neighborhood energizes
my body and refreshes my mind.
Listening, taking the time to hear, God’s voice in the Word at daily
prayer centers me again. I suspect
Jesus, in this Gospel moment of intimate care for his friends, had, at the back
of his mind, fear, frustration perhaps even hate at what he knew was coming for
him. He also knew to the bottom of his
soul that he was of a larger sacred story and was one with a divinity who loved
him in ways at which washing of feet only hinted.
If you understand this, he said, you are
blessed. Yet he knew that not all
understood and that made him sad. I
AM, he revealed, offering them an immense love he immersed himself in. And, of course, he offers it to me. Do I choose to understand, or do I want my
position of disbelief, blocked by the emotions which rule me? I can select belief in the I AM, which Jesus
offers to me as I accept him. I can choose to reflect upon life-repudiating
reactions and let them go.
Action
Just because we are “in place” does not mean
that we are ineffective or meaningless.
Jesus merely washed his friend’s feet and in doing brought down the
barriers between master and slave, between the have’s and the have nots,
between them and us – should we choose to understand him.
What negative emotions do we allow to
separate us from the love of God and loving our neighbors? Ask for the grace to corral the energy of
those emotions and turn them to belief, to the washing of feet, to serving
others in the name of our Brother Jesus.
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