Washing Feet: An Example of Service or Something More?

Jesus Washing Peter's Feet by Ford Madox Brown 1852-6 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 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. - John 13:2-5 Today, in 2024 A.D., we don't give much thought to these few sentences. The impact of the activity of Jesus is lost on us because a) We wear shoes everywhere. Many of us even have "inside shoes" and "outside shoes". b) The Church's liturgy (as popularly practiced) often misses or lessens the importance of this event (pro tip: it's not simply Jesus giving and example of serving others). Contrary to what we see in the movies, the roads in the time of Jesus weren't all covered in perfectly placed cobblestones or silky, fine dust. If r

The Sheepfold and the Voice of the Shepherd

Stone sheepfold
John 10:22-30

Recently my boys have been spending a great deal of time outside in the area that will soon be transformed into our garden. They spend endless hours digging in the dirt for worms. They then promptly take those worms and throw them to the chickens.

It amazes me how even chickens can learn to recognize sounds or voices. My oldest makes this funny high-pitched sound when he comes out of the house and heads toward the coop. The chickens practically fall over themselves running toward the fence or out of the coop when they hear him making his sound. They know there is food to follow!

In Sunday's Gospel Jesus tells us that, "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me." and "I am the gate for the sheep." Today, again, Jesus mentions that His sheep know His voice and follow Him.  In these few verses we learn that Jesus is both gate and shepherd for the sheep.

In those days and even today in some places, a sheepfold was a large circular fence of stone, wood, or brush with a small opening for the sheep to enter and exit. At night the shepherd would sleep in this opening to keep the sheep in and the predators out. Only sheep or other shepherds could get in or out through this opening. It is interesting to note that the sheep learned the voice of their shepherd in much the same way that our chickens know the voice of my oldest son. In this way, many flocks could be kept in one sheepfold. When morning came the shepherd would call to his sheep and they would follow him out while the others, sensing a stranger, would remain until they heard the voice of their shepherd.

Jesus' use of these terms are very profound and have deep meaning for us. To be within the fold is for us safety and security. To get into this fold, the Church here on earth and Heaven in eternity, we must go through the Gate which is Christ Himself. Any other way is from the evil one. Only a "thief and a robber" would try to get us out of the fold by breaching the walls of the sheepfold.

Yet we are not helpless. We have a definite role to play and choice to make. Our job is to learn very well the voice of Our Shepherd. This is not an easy thing to do with so many voices, many of which are in fact thieves and robbers, trying to pull us every which way. So, the question is, how do we learn to recognize the voice of the Shepherd? Like any other relationship, we learn another's voice by spending time with them. I recognize my best friend's voice on the phone because we have spent many hours together. To recognize the Shepherd's voice we must spend time with Him. We do this in prayer which is both speaking and listening to God. We do this through meditating and praying over Sacred Scripture especially the words of Christ Himself.

The last way in which we can learn to hear the Shepherd's voice is by listening to the shepherd He has placed in the "gate" until His return. Christ placed the person of Peter (see John 21:15-19) in that gate to lead Christ's flock into the fold and to protect the fold from the thieves and robbers.

Through prayer, Scripture, and the Church we can learn to recognize the voice of the Shepherd and learn to stay far away from those other voices that are calling us from outside the safety of the fold.

FROM THE SAINTS - “Those countries in Europe which are still influenced by priests, are exactly the countries where there is still singing and dancing and coloured dresses and art in the open-air. Catholic doctrine and discipline may be walls; but they are the walls of a playground. Christianity is the only frame which has preserved the pleasure of Paganism. We might fancy some children playing on the flat grassy top of some tall island in the sea. So long as there was a wall round the cliff’s edge they could fling themselves into every frantic game and make the place the noisiest of nurseries. But the walls were knocked down, leaving the naked peril of the precipice. They did not fall over; but when their friends returned to them they were all huddled in terror in the centre of the island; and their song had ceased.”  – G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy


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