Fr Philip Carter offers a ministry of spirituality, with a series of meditations on some questions that we may ponder as we consider our life in God.
This series of seven reflections, Learning Jesus, takes us on a journey through the season of Lent. We pray that you find this a time of renewal.
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So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
John 13:14
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To hear Jesus speak was to feel clean. His word was welcoming and inviting, spoken in freedom and appealing to the freedom and dignity of the hearer. And to let him wash our feet, touch us in a vulnerable place, is to hear him say, “You matter”: But he doesn’t stop there. Having been washed, we are to wash one another’s feet. We are gathered, only to be sent out; brought home, only to reach out.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
Galatians 2: 20
Jesus invites me to live with my ego differently. It is about shifting my centre of gravity from self to God. Rather than making something of myself- often in a spirit of deep anxiety – I notice and let go of all my attempts to hide my need, my limitations, my vulnerability and Jet Jesus inform and shape my everyday. I let Jesus be my way of being in the world. I let Jesus touch the places of fear, bitterness or resentment in me, finding room for his gentleness and mercy.
Let the one who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.
John 8:7
The heart is the wellspring for all our actions, good or bad. So the more light we let in to our hearts the more we are free from prejudice and self interest. Seeing ourselves clearly means being free or distanced from our often hidden drives and passions, our addiction to privilege, control or achievement. It then means seeing more clearly the “other” without blame, resentment or judgement.
Put your sword back in its place, for all who take the sword will die by the sword.
Matthew 26:52
Particular instance; universal principle. But it’s a principle and rule in which Christian history has searched for exceptions. But the principle is grounded in the nature of God, who never seeks to impose his will by force but rather always seeks the response of faith.
My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9
The tradition speaks of the imitation of Christ or following Jesus – but more profoundly still it speaks of being found in him and he in us. Our experience becomes the crucible in which God’s life and ours meet – where our poverty and weakness become the place of grace, and where the power of love is proved. I do not so much see God, as see with God’s eyes; I do not so much hear God, but hear with God’s ears; I do not so much feel God, but feel with Jesus the power of God.
For a printable PDF of the text of this reflection click on the link below.
