Just finishing cleaning the toilets. What is a
priest doing on his hands and knees with a bottle of Lysol cleaner? Imitating a
beautiful moment that I witnessed last night in church. In case you missed it,
it was Holy Thursday last night, and the ceremony invites the priest to wash
the feet of his parishioners to imitate what Christ did at the Last Supper. But
imagine this!
A twenty year old soon to be enlist in the Army
is washing the feet of a sixty something lumberjack, a widow is washing the
feet of a retired school teacher, a husband is washing the feet of his spouse,
a teenager is washing the feet of her twenty something sister, a prison guard
is washing the feet of the lady who cooks all the funeral luncheons, an
engineer washes the feet of a neighbor, a farmer washes the feet of one his
hired hands.
Mind you as these people sat on the stool taking
off their socks their was “lots of chatting” taking place. People were smiling,
pouring “warm water” rubbing feet and tossing the towels over the heads of
their neighbors into the baskets in the sanctuary. I thought it was the NCAA
playoffs the way people were enjoying themselves.
No one complained, no one sat in the pew feeling
disgusted because people were washing one another’s feet, rather this was a gesture
of humility that God wants all of us to know is the secret ingredient of
ministry. In my homily, I shared that in the past year our parishioners
provided food for funeral luncheons, donated socks and undergarments for the elderly,
made meals for shut-ins, mailed cards to neighbors who were ill or lost loved
ones. opened a beautiful new playground for public use, donated half a steer to
feed needy county families, donated winter clothes and children’s toys on St.
Nicholas Day, brought Christmas presents to three families, began transforming the
convent into a hospice home, and the children during Lent searched their
closets for good clothes to give away to another child for Easter.
Imagine an eight year old searching her room to
find something nice for another child to wear for Easter! Why would kids do
this? Because they trust Jesus and are learning to be grateful and humble. And
one more thing, the kids wrote Easter cards to give to people at the local
nursing home. The message read: “Jesus loves you very much and we pray for you
daily.”
This Easter remember that you are never forgotten
by the Shepherd, Walt in rehab, Scott in detox, Laurie coping with divorce,
Jared recovering from heart surgery, Penny’s MS, Mary’s eyes, Brad’s shoulder,
Jimmy’s cancer, and all my Sonshine friends.
This Easter let us pray and remember: “See, I have inscribed
you on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49:16
