Let God operate in you; hand the work over to
Him and do not disquiet yourself as to whether or no He is working with nature or above nature, for His are both nature and grace.
- Meister Eckhart (1260-1327)
(Let God operate in you . . .)
|
ACTS 13:13-25; PS 89:2-3, 21-22, 25 AND
27
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."
Reflection on the
Scriptures |
Today’s readings have an interesting point of entry into this new way of living our human lives. St. Paul preaches to the people of Antioch in Pisidia the history of salvation. He is speaking to an assembly of Jews and “God-fearers” that is pagans who we attracted to the God of Israel but hadn’t yet converted to Judaism. The history for them would be old news except his reference to John the Baptist
and Jesus. He tells us that John the Baptist said he is not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals – a statement that is well attested to in the four gospels as well.
The Church ties this passage to a Gospel text from John that describes Jesus’ short address to the Apostles after washing their feet. “No slave is greater than the master, nor any messenger greater
than the one who sent him.” Just as Jesus is sent by the Father, and is no greater than the Father, so are his disciples sent by him. We are clearly not greater than Jesus, but we are given his Spirit to be his partners in the mission, or work of the Father, to bring about God’s Reign. Baptism makes us “worthy” of this task. That is the heart of the Easter message. Jesus has unleashed the power of God’s Spirit into all who claim His name, are baptized into his death
and resurrection and live their lives according to His message.
- by Eileeen
Burke-Sullivan
Revelations of Divine
Love - by Julian of Norwich
Fourteenth Revelation, Chapter 51
“He is the Head, and we be His
members.” “Therefore our Father nor may nor will more blame assign to us than to His own Son, precious and worthy Christ”
And of all this the most mischief that I saw him in, was failing of comfort: for he could not turn his face to look upon his loving Lord, which was to him full near,—in Whom
is full comfort;—but as a man that was feeble and unwise for the time, he turned his mind to his feeling and endured in woe.
In which woe he suffered seven great pains. The first was the sore bruising that he took in his falling,
which was to him feelable pain; the second was the heaviness of his body; the third was feebleness following from these two; the fourth, that he was blinded in his reason and stunned in his mind, so far forth that almost he had forgotten his own love; the fifth was that he might not rise; the sixth was most marvellous to me, and that was that he lay all alone: I looked all about and beheld, and far nor near, high nor low, I saw to him no help; the seventh was that the place which he lay on was a
long, hard, and grievous [place].
|
|
|
