In our gospel for today from St. John, we hear of the scene
at the Last Supper of Jesus washing the feet of the Disciples. This act of
humility was our Lords way of teaching the disciples of service to others in
their lives as followers of Him. By this point in the gospel, it is getting
close to the Lord being betrayed by Judas and being turned over to the authorities
to die on the Cross. The Gospel of St. John doesn’t focus on the institution of
the Eucharist but on that of service to others.
What’s interesting in today’s gospel is that it takes
place just before Judas betrays the Lord. So, the Lord, in fact, had also
washed the feet of Judas, knowing full well that he was about to betray him to
the Scribes and Pharisees. This act of love to not only the other disciples,
but to Judas, as well, gives us an example of how we are to treat all people,
even those that we may have problems with. The Lord loved Judas and was willing
to wash his feet even though the Lord knew Judas was about to betray him. This ultimate humility towards Judas teaches us how we are to
treat all people in our lives, even those that we may feel betrayed by.
Further in today’s gospel we hear the Lord make it
clear that he was not only truly man, but truly God. The Lord says, “From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.” (John 13:19) These words, “I AM” are the words that God used with Moses
when God sent Moses to the people and declared that he is God, using the phase,
“I AM WHO AM.” So, this helped make it clear to the disciples of who Jesus truly
is: true God and true man.
As we meditate on this scripture, let us truly remember
that we are to serve others in our lives, even those that we may have issues
with, and also remember that Jesus is true God and true man. Let us always pray
to the Lord to ask him to not only have love for God, but to have love for all
those people in our lives, even those we may find it difficult to deal with.
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