Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfil the scripture, “The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.”
I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.’
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Today we revisit the “prologue” to Jesus’ Passion. We return to that room, to that table, and we enter the scene as Jesus is finishing washing the disciples’ feet. After performing this act of service, this act of love, Jesus reminds us that, “servants are not greater than their master,” and He tells us, “if you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Jesus is calling us to know and do. It’s not an either/or. It’s a both/and. Knowing the benefits of sunscreen does not reduce the incidence of melanoma. You actually have to apply sunscreen if you want to protect your skin. Knowing empowers us, it cultivates the desire within us, to do. Knowing God’s love for me empowers me to love – love that manifests itself in deeds, in service. What is Jesus calling you to know and do today?
—Jackie Schulte is the Dean of Faculty Formation and a history teacher at Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha, NE.
May it please the supreme and divine Goodness
to give us all abundant grace
ever to know his most holy will
and perfectly to fulfill it.
—St. Ignatius of Loyola
Please share the Good Word with your friends!
