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, [Jesus] 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 disciple’s feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. 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." 

"Feeling my way through the darkness, guided by a beating heart, I can’t tell where the journey will end, but I know where to start. They tell me I’m too young to understand. They say I’m caught up in a dream. Well, life will pass me by if I don’t open up my eyes. So wake me up when it’s all over, when I’m wise and I’m older. All this time I was finding myself, and I didn’t know I was lost. Life's a game made for everyone, and love is the prize."        

The practice of washing feet in Jesus' time was a sign of love. It meant that a person was not only welcomed into the host's dwelling, but that the person was truly loved. Washing feet was an action of love, an action as Jesus told his disciples that they must learn from him. As he said, love was "his" commandment (John 15:12).

Perhaps Jesus' thought was that of the song "Wake Me Up" by Avicii, namely, that if his disciples learned how to love, then they would wake up to life. Perhaps they had to make themselves aware that in the game of life, they could accomplish great things if they were seeking the prize of love. It is a matter of history that they learned the lesson well as one of their followers in the early Church expressed it: "We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers" (1 John 3:14).

The song expresses the pattern of a good life. We discover who we are by understanding the importance of true love. We see that love is the prize that comes when we live the game of life well, and in that discovery, we find ourselves even if we do not know that we are lost.

Unfortunately, we live in sort of a darkness in life--there are many things that we do not understand, especially as we begin the growth of maturity, that is, as the song says, when we are too young to understand. To understand a little better, we must open ourselves to true love, not only the romantic love that comes with growth, but true love and concern for other people. We must see the people who are hurting in this world, and try to help them as best we can.

When we do, we find out who we are. And we will never be lost.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son was very direct as he came to the end of his life here on earth. He told us that we must learn to love, to "wash one another's feet." Help us listen to him, and learn his lesson of love for all. Be with us, we pray. 

+++++

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America