Daily Reflection

“Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end…And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.”

God’s love for us in Jesus includes Christ’s dying on the cross, of course, but it is the whole being of Jesus that is God’s love for us, and not just his sacrifice. Jesus washes the disciples’ feet because he loves them: While we may understand the gesture as an example of God’s love, showing or proving to us that the servant heart of Christ reinforces what Jesus has come to earth to do, we must not forget that Jesus has shown and proven to us over and over his mercy and care. What if Jesus wants to wash the disciples’ feet? What if it isn’t selflessness that allows him to stoop to his friends, but a desire to get close to each one of them before his death? What if God loves us in a way that is not only known and cultivated through words and images and ideas but also in a way that includes human touch, human heartbreak, and the human caretaking of each other?

Loving God, we pray for those for whom we care most deeply, relatives and friends, and we say their names, lifting them up to You. Merciful God, we pray for those for whom we are called to care for, neighbour and stranger, and we ask that You would break our hearts to let love for them pour out as action in the world. In Jesus’ way and in his name we pray. Amen

Christian Seasons Calendar

Daily Reflection

Thursday, March 28, 2024