[Pearls Ep 166: Preparing for Sunday.]
In yesterday’s Pearls reflection on Holy Thursday, we noted that Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet is a model for us to follow.
That deceptively small act of service was, among other things, a foreshadowing of the extraordinary act of infinite sacrifice about to come on the Cross.
Before giving up His spirit, Jesus says, “it is finished.”
In “Lord, Teach Us to Pray,” Venerable Fulton Sheen reflects on these words from the Cross:
“What is finished? The Redemption of man is finished. Love had completed its mission, for Love had done all that it could. There are two things Love can do. Love by its very nature tends to an Incarnation, and every incarnation tends to a crucifixion. Does not all true love tend toward an Incarnation? In the order of human love, does not the affection of husband for wife create from their mutual loves the incarnation of their confluent love in them form of a child? Once they have begotten their child, do not they make sacrifices for him, even to the point of death? And thus their love tends to a crucifixion.”
Bishop Sheen then draws the parallel with of Christ’s incarnation and crucifixion; the He was literally born into the world so that He could die for it.
Jesus’ work might be finished, but what of us? Bishop Sheen continues:
“Our Lord finished His work, but we have not finished ours. The world is full of half-finished Gothic cathedrals, of half-finished lives and half-crucified souls. Some carry the Cross to Calvary and then abandon it; others are nailed to it and detach themselves before the elevation; other are crucified, but in answer to the challenge of the world, “come down,” they come down after one hour, after two hours, after two hours and fifty-nine minutes. Real Christians are they who persevere unto the end. Our Lord stayed until He had finished. A finished life is not measured by years but by deeds; by the time spent in the vineyard, but by the word done. In a short time, a man may fulfill many years…”
Good Friday is our call to finish our own mission. Are we “partially crucified”? Are we still toying with our pet sins, vices, and indulgences? Are we still holding back in our trust in God’s plan over our own agendas? Are we truly serving God and neighbor without counting the cost?
Jesus desires nothing less than the highest and best for us. He desires that when we come to the end of our life on earth, we don’t simply shrug and think “well, it’s over” but instead return to our heavenly home with the great satisfaction that “it is finished.”
A blessed Good Friday to you –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: John 13:1-15
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”