My brothers and sisters, we all love a good story, especially one where we get to be the hero. We naturally want our lives to be impactful, ...
My brothers and sisters, we all love a good story, especially one where we get to be the hero. We naturally want our lives to be impactful, to leave a legacy, and to be recognized for the hard work we put in.
In today’s First Reading, Paul stands up and recounts the greatest story ever told—the history of the people of Israel. He talks about the Exodus, the forty years in the desert, the judges, and the great King David. He traces this long, dramatic lineage all the way down to Jesus. But notice how he mentions John the Baptist. John, the great prophet, the one who prepared the way, says of himself: "I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet." John understood his place in the story. He knew he was not the main character; he was the servant preparing the way.
Jesus drives this point home with striking clarity in today’s Gospel. He has just performed the lowest task imaginable in the ancient world: washing the grime and dirt off His disciples’ feet. And He looks at them and says, "No slave is greater than his master, nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him."
This is a profound challenge to our modern sensibilities. We spend so much energy trying to climb the ladder, trying to be the master of our own destiny. But Jesus flips the script. He shows us that if we want to participate in God's grand story, we have to adopt the posture of a servant.
The sending of the disciples is predicated on this humility. Jesus says, "Whoever receives the one I send receives me." If we go out into the world full of our own ego, demanding to be served, we obscure the face of Christ. But when we wash the feet of others—when we forgive patiently, when we do the thankless tasks at home, when we elevate our colleagues instead of ourselves—we become living icons of Jesus. Today, let us step down from the pedestals we build for ourselves and embrace the quiet, powerful dignity of being a servant of the Lord.
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