Are You The Offended, The Offender, Or The Foot Washer? (Video)

There are a lot of trends these days, some good, some bad, and there is one trend that I am exhausted by; the trend of shock and outrage. Wherever you look or whatever you listen to these days, there is always someone who is outraged and demanding an apology from someone who has offended them. It takes a lot of energy to be angry all the time and frankly, I can think of much better ways to use my energy. This is why the message from today's gospel are so important for our time. It is taken from John 13: 1-15, where we see Jesus' example of how we are to treat each other as He washed the feet of the disciples. On this night, after they had dined together and He had instructed them, after He instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, He got down on His knees with perfect humility and washed the dirty feet of the disciples. And He used it as a teachable moment:

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.

This is the essence of today's reflection: In a world that tells us we should be offended and outraged, what are we doing to follow this command Jesus gave us? How are we washing the feet of others? Being a forgiving person is definitely part of it, but when someone offends us, do we respond with humility or do we lash out in anger?

If there's anything truly important message today, it's that our world needs Christ. But there are so many people who don't know Him, and God is relying on us, on you and I, to be examples of His love so they can know Him.

As a resolution, I encourage you to be mindful of this and when you face your next offender, don't react with outrage, respond with humility and graciousness.

I hope these Lenten messages have been of some small help to you these past weeks and I'm grateful you've taken the time to see them. Your prayers have been a great encouragement to me and as we go forward, remember you are in my daily prayers as well. Have a blessed and joyous Easter.