Serving with love and humility (Thursday, Easter 4, 2021 )

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John presents us with an account of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples (cf. Jn. 13:16-20). Among all that He said, there is an outstanding statement that is worth my attention: “Whoever receives the one I send receives ME”. Being a Christian is more than merely going through the ritual of baptism. It is an encounter which makes us taken on another personality, the personality of Christ. That is why the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, wrote in his first encyclical _“Deus Caritas Est”,_ that “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with a person who gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction”.


In this sense then, when we share the faith, we do not just merely hand on or pass on a baton, an idea, a thing or a piece of information. We share a person, Jesus himself. When we share the faith, we take Jesus to other people. One way of doing this is through humble service. Of course, when Jesus was washing the feet of His disciples, He was not just merely teaching them about humble service; He was also showing them how to serve: in humility and with love.


With humility and love, we too can easily introduce Jesus to others. Without humility and love, we can never serve not to talk of sharing the message of Christ. We see Paul, who used to be a proud Jewish fanatic, sharing the message of Jesus with those in the Synagogue (cf. Acts 13:44-52). Without love and humility, St Paul would not have taken up the task of preaching and upholding a course which he formally persecuted and worked against. 


Come to think of it: If not LOVE and HUMILITY, what else could have moved a master to go down, stoop low and wash his servants' feet, the dirtiest part of the body? We live in a world where many people are just pretending to serve. Deep within, many of us should know quite well that we are not serving others as we claim but serving our own selfish interests. “Service” without love and humility is self-serving. And if we really understand what Christ has done for us, we should always be desirous, just like St Paul, to give ourselves up entirely in humble service to others.


Prayer:

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto yours, Amen!


Have a blessed day!



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