\u201cIf you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.\u201d\u00a0 Such were Jesus\u2019 words to the disciples just after he washed their feet.<\/p>\n
What a contrast, because in the reading from Acts, we hear Paul summarize the case for the Messiah from Scriptures- how the nation of Israel was saved from Egyptian slavery, and brought into the promised land; how God the Father nurtured them, and led them by giving them Prophets, Judges, and Kings.\u00a0 And ultimately, he promised them a Messiah from the line of David- a Messiah, a Savior, who would save them all forever.<\/p>\n
But then, what happens when the Messiah, the Savior, comes to his people?\u00a0 The savior of all mankind tells his disciples very clearly that, just as he was called to be a servant, he is calling all his disciples to be a servant as well, and that is what it takes to be blessed in God\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
Every Holy Thursday, we reenact the washing of the feet.\u00a0 It is a powerful image- that the clergy are here to serve just as Jesus served.\u00a0 This year, Father Giel extended that image so that those whose feet were washed by the clergy, were asked to wash the feet of other parishioners as well.\u00a0 And how fitting, because we are all the descendants of the disciples.\u00a0 And all of us are called to be blessed by serving others.<\/p>\n
And yet, even though we hear the Gospel and it is preached to us often, do we follow Jesus example; do we embrace the concept of service to others as our primary mission?<\/p>\n
I think that the mothers of the world are particularly blessed when you come right down to it.\u00a0 Mothers know instinctively about deferring self for the benefit of their infant children- getting up at night; constant demands and interruptions, teaching moments during development. \u00a0\u00a0These become a way of life for the first several years of life.\u00a0 And that nurturing instinct carries forward in life as children grow up, doesn\u2019t it.<\/p>\n
And then consider this.\u00a0 Decades ago, multigenerational households were the norm.\u00a0 Usually, an aged parent or relative was around, and just as these folks had cared for their parents or relatives in their day, now their children were called to that kind of service for them.\u00a0 Everybody in the household learned what it meant to be a servant by observing.\u00a0 And everybody got it- that some day, the roles would likely be reversed.\u00a0 But we seem to have lost that cultural call to service these days, and the lesson that goes with it, possibly because everybody strives now to be independent and not a burden.<\/p>\n
Now there are many other ways that men, and indeed all of us, are presented with opportunities to serve others in our daily lives.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to go out of our way to find them, although some blessed people are called for that too.\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking about times when neighbors need your help- getting their car started, cleaning up a mess after a storm; or when something happens like a sickness or death in the family.\u00a0 You all know what I mean because when these things happen, you see them; and you may even hear a little voice inside.\u00a0 But do you respond?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time that all of us slowed down just a little from our fast pace in life and take a break from independence and self-absorption to sense and respond to the opportunities we have to serve others.<\/p>\n
Blessed are you if you do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thursday of Fourth Week of Easter Acts 13: 13-25; John 13: 16-20 By Deacon Larry Brockman \u201cIf you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.\u201d\u00a0 Such were Jesus\u2019 words to the disciples just after he washed their feet. What a contrast, because in the reading from Acts, we hear Paul summarize the case […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[409],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=856"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":857,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856\/revisions\/857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}