Coffee With God

Reflection: John 15: 12-17

Jesus calls us to love one another “as he has loved us.” How did Jesus love his disciples? The setting of the passage is the last supper. Jesus brings them together for the meal. Sharing a meal is a sign of love, friendship and family. In the past, our elders insisted that a family must share the table and have the meals together. In today’s world, one of the reasons for the rising numbers of broken families and lack of love in the families is – the members rarely share the table; people are too concerned about their jobs, social life and studies … we have time for everything except for the family meal and family prayer. Jesus shares the Passover meal with his disciples, his new-found family. And there, he would first wash the feet of the members of his family, and would tell them to love. No matter how bad the other person wronged you; our call – our vocation is to bend down before our brother and sister and wash his her feet – be a loser for the sake of love. That’s why Jesus stoops before Judas Iscariot who would betray him, to wash his feet. The story does not end there: He tells them to feed on his body and blood – that is, his life. My life is donated to you for strengthening and nurturing your life. This is exactly what happens in a family that is united by this sacrificial love, where the wife and the husband surrender their lives, their freedom, their personal likes and choices to each other. They do that because they are in love. They are willing even to die for each other. And they share this same love for their children; they are willing to sacrifice their lives for their children … all because, they are in love. This is the desire of the Lord that we love one another. This new commandment calls on us to accept the other as he or she is and not as he/she should be or I would like him to be. So easily said, but had we Catholics have given a serious thought about this, there would not have had disputes and divisions in our families and communities. Just imagine! Today, Jesus has called us his friends and asked us to remain in his love. Let us do all we can to put this into practice. Can I kneel down before my husband, or wife, or elderly parents, or anyone else to wash their feet, as a sign of Jesus’ love for them.