Daily Reflection – 4/25/2024
Sacred Scripture
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.” (John 13:16-20)
Reflection
There is one message that underscores every other one in today’s scripture.
Jesus points out that anyone who accepts his disciples and messages, accepts both Jesus himself and the Father who sent him. There is a clear line of unity emanating from the Father going through the Son and passing through the disciple to us!
Speaking and acting for him means serving others. But, being a servant to others is not easy, because it means we have to be humble. It was not easy for Christ either, but he had a motivation: to love and save us.
Humility comes hard for most people. It is against the national ethos. It is counter cultural. Of course, it is because our world is not governed by the same philosophies and the same rules that make up this country.
Jesus found it easier because he was already of the belief that he was there to fulfill His father’s request. He was there to do His father’s will. To . . . do . . . His . . . Father’s . . . will.
Not His will or what he thought should be done but rather what His Father willed.
That’s the first step toward humility. To say “ Thy will, Not My Will.” To place ourselves at our Father’s discretion.
The second step is like it. To be able to say: “ I surrender myself to you, Jesus.”
Think about it. Simple words which have enormous consequence.
Think about it. We will never be followers of Christ unless we are FOLLOWERS.
To become a follower means that we accept all that which the person we follow believes and commands. To literally walk in our Master’s shoes.
That’s a process that can take a lifetime. But it’s THE process that leads to eternal life.
When we are truly humble, we find that Serving is a blessing because it teaches us to love. .And it’s Love which can transform our world. It’s love which transforms hearts and allows the grace of God to touch the depths of the soul. If we have the love for souls as our motivation to serve, every opportunity we have to live as servants becomes a blessing, a blessing to live like the Master who came to serve and not be served and to give his life as a ransom for many.
There is a link between each of us as followers of Christ. That link consists of His love for each of us. That love is exhibited every day when we care enough to give and every day when we receive that blessing.
Humility lies behind both actions. He humbled himself to walk among others. We emulate that humility and walk in his love when we put our egos aside to yield to Him and to serve each other.
Prayer of The Day
“Eternal God, who are the light of the minds that know you, the joy of the hearts that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you; grant us so to know you, that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom, in Jesus our Lord. (Prayer of Saint Augustine)”
Daily Note
Our needs and wants are part of who we are. And that is why we must not hide our scars from ourselves or others. They are the signs of healing. They are signs to remind us that that God has been faithful, that others have loved us, that our future can still be blessed—that we can move from death to resurrection.
