If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. John 13:15
For believers, serving others isn’t optional, it’s required. Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy on the planet. When we serve others, we serve God and respond to His Son’s command: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
At the Last Supper on the night before he dies, Jesus gives final instructions on what his disciples are to do when he’s no longer there to guide them in person. Besides instituting the Eucharist, he gives them another important way to keep his memory and spirit alive. Rising from the table, Jesus removes his outer garment, takes a towel, ties it around his waist, pours water into a basin, then washes and dries their feet. Imagine how taken aback the disciples must have been at such a gesture!
In first century Judea washing road dust off your feet when entering a home was common practice. Usually you washed your own feet, or a servant did it for you, or a disciple washed the feet of a revered teacher to show respect. Jesus, on the other hand, reverses the master-servant roles and honors his disciples instead by washing their feet. To make his meaning crystal clear, he tells them: “…I have given you a model to follow… as this is done for you, so you must do for one another.” Jesus once again, as he did so often during his earthly ministry, challenges them and us to live according to God’s values, not the world’s.
T
he world values self; doing what feels good; looking out for number one. God values selflessness, humility, living for others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. God measures greatness in terms of service.
From early childhood pop culture drills us to be conscious of our rank in society. The education system urges us to study hard and get good grades so we can graduate with honors, display our diplomas and live the good life, which Madison Avenue defines as one of conspicuous consumption and self-indulgence. Remember some of those T.V. ads during last month’s Super bowl game?
The business sector and the professions reward people who succeed by giving them titles, perks and bonuses. To be considered important by pop cultural standards, you have to sit in the nicest seats at concerts and sporting events; drive the finest cars; live in the plushiest neighborhoods and have others serve you. Jesus, by contrast, asks us to live counter-culturally -- simply, selflessly, spiritually, and serve others. Is that easy to do? Certainly not, but the benefits for those who do are well worth the effort.
A recent Reader’s Digest article reported on a study proving that elderly people who regularly do small acts of kindness for others live longer than those who are more self-centered. The study results showed that even one small act of kindness will lengthen the life of the person performing it.
Dr. Karl Menninger, a noted Christian psychologist, was once asked what you should do if you feel a period of depression coming on. You’d expect the doctor to prescribe a vacation or at least a brief period of rest. Quite the contrary, here’s what he said: “If I felt a sense of futility overwhelming me, I’d go out of my house, lock the door, go across the tracks and find someone in need, and do whatever I could to assist that person.” In other words, sound mental health is contingent on caring about and helping others. Most spiritual gurus, regardless of tradition, agree that people are happiest when their lives have purpose and they find purpose when they focus on others.
You don’t have to perform great acts of service to live a purposeful life; you can serve in small ways. In your home, for example, think of other family members ahead of yourself. Pick up your clothes so someone else doesn’t have to. Help your brother or sister with a chore. Turn off the T.V. or video game player and do something together as family. Help get the little kids ready for bed.
When you come to church, park at the back of the lot so older folks can have the closer parking spots. Help a mom carry her diaper bag into the building. Help tidy up the pews when mass is over. Get involved in some church ministry. Volunteer at a human service agency. Reach out to someone who’s hurting. The list goes on and on.
Jesus’ entire life was an unending offering of praise to God and loving service to others. By word and example, he demonstrated over and over again that love and service are synonymous. When we serve others, we allow God to use us to reshape the world We become co-creators with Him of the kingdom on earth. That’s why what matters isn’t the duration of our lives, but the donation of our lives. Not how long we live, but how we live.
A story is told of a wealthy man whose wife died when their son was young. The father hired a housekeeper to take care of the medically needy boy who lived only into his teens. Heartbroken from this second loss, the father died a short time later. No Last Will and Testament could be located, and since there were no relatives, the state was about to assume his fortune.
The man’s personal belongings, including his mansion, were put up for auction. The old housekeeper had very little money, but there was one thing she was determined to buy. It was a picture that had hung on the stairway wall in the house – a large painting of the boy, the man’s son, she had loved and cared for. When the items were sold, nobody else wanted the painting, so she bought it for just a few pennies. Taking it home, she began to clean it and to cherish the memories it brought. As she took it apart, a document fell out. It was the man’s Will and in it he stated that all his wealth should go to the one who loved his son enough to buy that picture.
Throughout the Christian world tonight the gesture of love performed on this night over 2000 years ago will be reenacted in churches from St. Peter’s in Rome to here at Transfiguration in Pittsford. Fr. Mike, Gloria, our pastoral associate, Eric Bessette of our RCIA team and I will begin by washing each other’s feet. We, in turn, will wash the feet of our dear friends, the candidates, who at the Easter Vigil, will be received into our faith community. Then we invite you to come forward to have your feet washed. You may remove one shoe and sock at your pew (ladies need not remove sheer stockings) or you may remove them after you sit in one of the chairs at the end of the four designated aisles.
To bring home the meaning of this ancient ritual, while it’s being performed, Jesus’ words will be repeated: “As this is done for you, so do for one another.” When you hear those words spoken, reflect on this truth: the world pursues happiness and can’t find it; we pursue service and happiness finds us.
Anthony J. Sciolino
Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday).
March 24, 2005. (Cycle A)
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14/39
Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15.