John 13: 4 - 14
Jesus got up from supper, and laid aside his garments; and
taking a towel, he girded himself. Then he poured water into the basin, and
began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel . . . So when he had washed their feet,
and taken his garments and reclined at the table again, he said to them, “Do
you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are
right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you
also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
*
There
is a special kind of service that comes from the heart. The ancient Greeks had
a word for it – diakonia. It is the root of the English adjective diaconal
and the noun deacon. We Christians are called to be a diaconal people
– a people in loving service to God and to our neighbor.
The
role model for deacons and for all baptized Christians is the Servant Christ. Jesus, as he is depicted
in the above Gospel, sets the example of how we are called to live our lives.
At the end of that Gospel, after he has washed the feet of his friends, Jesus
tells them that he has given them a model to follow: “If I then, the Lord
and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” It’s
not just the symbolic act of washing the feet of another; it’s not just the act
of serving; it is that very special service that comes from the heart — diakonia
— to which we are called.
Real
diakonia, genuine loving service, needs to be freely given to everyone.
Not just our loved ones but to those who have hurt us deeply as well; to those
who act and live in ways we find hard to understand; even to those who have
turned away from God and from human goodness.
This
is what sets Christianity apart from other religions and philosophies: If we
love those who love us, what great thing is that? But if we love, genuinely
love, those who hurt us, that is the real deal. And Jesus is the realest deal
that ever was or ever will be.
We
all know this Gospel story and we all have the image of Jesus washing the feet
of the apostles. What many people miss, however, is the presence of Judas, the
person who hurt and betrayed Jesus. Judas is not excluded — Jesus washes his
feet with the same loving service he extends to the others.
As
we work our way through this summer of extreme weather, let us examine our
lives, and let us reach out — like Jesus — with forgiveness and loving service
to those who have hurt us, even if it’s not reciprocated. He has given us a model to follow: “If
I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another’s feet.”
Perhaps,
the greatest form of prayer that we can offer to God today will be to go home,
pick up the phone, and reopen the doors and the windows of our hearts.
……………………………………………………………………………………..
Readers
of this blog might enjoy these books by Deacon Lex. Both are available on
Amazon.com:
Just
to Follow My Friend: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life
Synchronicity
as the Work of the Holy Spirit: Jungian Insights for Spiritual Direction and
Pastoral Ministry
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