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So
when Jesus had washed their feet and put his garments back on and
reclined at table again, 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."
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"I
am so high, I can hear heaven. Oh,
but
heaven, no, heaven don’t hear me. And
they say that a hero can save us. I’m
not gonna stand here and wait. I’ll
hold
on to the wings of the eagles. Watch
as
we all fly away. Someone
told me that
love would save us. But
how can that
be? Look what love
gave us. A world
full of killing, and blood-spilling,
that world never came. Now
that the
world isn’t ending, it’s love that I’m
sending to you. It
isn’t the love of a hero, that’s why I
fear it won’t do."
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Generally,
the
Christian world thinks that the most important action of Jesus at the
Last
Supper was the institution of the Eucharist. Perhaps it was
because the presence of
Jesus’ body and blood in the
world must be a driving force for the believer in Jesus. But
something else
happened on that most
sacred night that a Christian must study.
It is an action that goes beyond the doctrine of the Eucharist, and teaches believers what the Eucharist should accomplish in their lives. Jesus taught the value of service to others. “Do you realize what I have done for you?” Jesus asks. “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” If we are to call ourselves Christian, we must serve others. Or as Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott might say it, we must become the heroes. Other heroes seem to have failed, even people who personify love. “Look what love gave us,” they sing, “a world full of killing.” It was supposed to be a world saved by love, but “that world never came.” And so, what must happen? The hero becomes us. “I’m not gonna stand here and wait.” That is to say, we become the heroes, we become the people who must understand the value of service in particular, and once we understand it, our world and everyone in it will change for the better. What is the most important lesson for the Christian in the world? Should it not revolve around what Jesus said? Should it not reflect the fact that Jesus showed us the importance of service to others, and that we, just like he did, have to show it. Should it not reflect the fact that we have to give up some of our own comforts, bring the water of cleansing to the table, get down on our knees and take care of people who need our help? Service to others is not easy, but it is the direction that Jesus gave us. And we are the heroes. We are the ones who can do it. |
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THOUGHT
Do you think that Christians
really understand
the importance of service to others? Yes
or no and why?
PRAYER Good
and gracious
God, your Son gave us a
dramatic example of service
to others when he washed his Apostles’ feet. Help
us learn that lesson, and help us want to serve
the people who come
into our lives. Be
with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |