THE WORD
Ac 13,13-25 / Jn 13,16-20
When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “The One who ate my food has raised his heel against me.’ From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
IN OTHER WORDS
A well-dressed gentleman was on his way to the bishop’s house. Near the entrance he spotted somebody cleaning the garden. “Excuse me,” he said, “I want to see My Lord.” “Here I am,” the other replied. “Anything I can do for you?” The gentleman was taken aback, very embarrassed, he mistook his Excellence for a gardener. Should he be?
Titles and persons could be misleading. We see Jesus the Master doing the work of a slave. Jesus is bending down, putting himself lower than his disciples, washing their feet. Still in many places in Africa the subjects have to be in kneeling position before their chief as a sign of respect and reverence. Yes, Jesus heard his disciples quarrelling, competing for the highest place. While the disciples sought for superiority, Jesus bowed down before them. Paradoxically in his humble posture he revealed who he was: “I am He”, the same title of the Father, a name above all other names. Jesus is the “Lord”! The disciples could only be blessed if they behaved accordingly. Their identity should be that they were those who served and were not to be served!
Another designation with which Jesus wanted his disciples to identify was “those whom he sent”. This is in fact the original meaning of a missionary. An apostle is sent in the name of Jesus himself and not on his own personal initiative. There should therefore be no room for competition. Jesus the Sender of the apostles is also Sent, by the Father. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (Jn 20:21). The motive of the sending is Love that saves. God so loved the world that he sent his only Son that those who believe in him receive eternal life (Jn 3:15). Jesus expected that those he sent should be received in the same way as they would the sender himself.
Many a times, unfortunately, a community as well as its mission are weakened because of the quarrelling among its members and competition among its leaders. Could it be the reason why John put the “washing of the feet” in the limelight as he recorded the Last Supper?
- Fr. Xene Sanchez, SVD | Congo, Africa
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
