A heritage of hope

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of our salvation history and the support this narrative offers for Providence in our future.

Washing feet

The reading from the Book of Acts tells of the preaching of Paul and Barnabas in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia.

In Psalm 89, the community ardently prays God to be faithful to the original promise to David.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus declares His connection to the Father and demonstrates Love as the nature of God.

John Shea, S.J. comments Jesus also imparts a duty to his disciples. After washing their feet and reminding them that no slave is greater than his master, he tells them, “blessed are you if you do it.” In other words, this profound act of service performed by Jesus must continue through the hands of his disciples. Imitating Jesus, we must continue to serve one another, washing each other’s feet. In the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, we reflect on the three questions: “What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for Christ?”

Don Schwager quotes “The Master wants his servants to reach their potential,” by Origen, 185-254 A.D.

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 13:16-20 comments on a night suffused with great promise and hope, Jesus showed his disciples what kind of coronation he would receive and what kind of kingdom he was establishing. By washing his disciples’ feet, he showed them that he is a king who serves his servants. Over the next few days, they would see a king who lays down his own life for his subjects. They would see a king who defeats even death, a king who offers to cleanse them every day by washing away their sins.

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the separation between John Mark and Paul mentioned in Acts. The Divinity of Jesus is presented strongly throughout John’s Gospel. Friar Jude reminds that washing feet and dying for others are manifestations of Divinity.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Jesus’ experience of divine kinship, which Beatrice Bruteau described yesterday, naturally led to the creation of an equitable community. His community was very different from the larger society in which he lived—and the individualistic, largely unfettered capitalist society in which we live today. In fact, Jesus’ community looks very similar to networks of mutual aid which are springing up to help one another during this global pandemic. The type of community that Beatrice Bruteau describes is an essential part of the Jesus “program.”

As the Spirit moves us to action by washing feet and serving others we may find ourselves more aware of opportunities to extend Jesus Way to the wider community.