Inspired by John 13:1-17, 31b-35
“Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’” John 13:8-10
We live in a culture in which ‘more’ is equated with ‘better.’ We live as though there’s never too much of a good thing, and there’s no such thing as ‘enough.’
As such, Peter’s behavior in this exchange with Jesus is completely understandable to us. At first Peter is reluctant to have his Lord wash his feet, a duty usually performed by the lowliest of house servants. But when Jesus tells him that he will have no share or place with him if Peter refuses, Peter goes the other way. If a foot washing will get him a share with Jesus, then a foot, hand, and head washing will get him a much bigger share! Peter wants the biggest share possible, so he wants Jesus to wash all of him.
But God in Christ offers us what we need, not necessarily what we want. God in Christ offers us enough—no more, no less. Jesus informs Peter that the foot washing will be sufficient, does what he needs to do, and goes about his business.
The grace God has given us in Christ Jesus is sufficient. The gifts God has given us in this life are adequate to the tasks set before us. We may need to grow and stretch somewhat, but we will always have what we need to accomplish what God expects of us.
Let us pray. God of grace, you give us that which we need. Help us to be satisfied with what we have, that we may not despise your gifts out of greed and vanity. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment