Jesus notices the notice of God, then he becomes that notice in the world. Jesus receives the tender glance of the God of love and then chooses to become that tender glance. In today’s gospel, Jesus says, “I wash your feet, now, go and do the same.” It’s supposed to work this way. A homie finished an email to me the other morning with this: “Today, I will surrender into the arms of God, then choose to be those arms.” Exactly like that.
The invitation from Exodus is to “eat like those who are in flight.” The times in which we find ourselves, at the moment, do not lend themselves to leisurely dining. We can ill afford to “tune out” and block the news and the urgent call to be in the world who God hopes we’ll be: compassionate, loving and kind. We heal the divide not by winning the argument. After all, people don’t really “hold a view” but are rather…held by an anguish. The man who washed the feet that night knew that anguish is won over by love, by holding people with regard, a sturdy kindness and a steadfast delight.
The anguish is won over by love. The divide gets healed. We choose to be the arms of God and we wash feet. Lean in. Eat like you’re in flight.
--Fr. Greg Boyle SJ
Image source: Sadao Watanabe, Jesus Washing the Feet of St. Peter (1971), https://scriptum.com/artwork/19443-jesus-washing-the-feet-of-saint-peter?artistsid=1505
Quotation source
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