“Jesus poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciple’s feet and dry them with the towel he had around him.”

John 13:

In the middle of the night the four-year-old screamed for her mom. All the gooblies, goblins and monsters were surely going to get her. Her mom scurries into the room, turns on the light and asks her daughter what is wrong. She tells her mom about how scared she is of all the spookies. Mom reassures her that she need not be afraid because there are no spookies and that she is never alone because God is always with her to protect her. The little girl replies, “Yeah, I know God is here, but I need someone in the room who has some skin!”

Jesus puts the skin on God. He comes to take on skin (and sin!) and show us who God is. On the night before he died, while at supper with his closest friends, he rises from table, ties a towel around his waist, and begins to wash his disciple’s feet. Jesus, the Savior of every human being and all creation, shows what it is like for God to have skin. In humble service, for every person to see from that moment until now, Jesus washes his disciple’s feet. But his act points to a much deeper reality. This exterior washing only prefigures the interior washing he would offer the next day on Calvary. From the cross onward he will wash away the sins of all souls who will allow his washing. If, today, we accept Jesus washing away of our sins, then, today, we experience eternal life. This is The Service of our Holy Thursday service.

Think of those “friends” in the upper room. We know that Jesus knew that one of them would betray him. Others would deny him. Most would flee when Jesus was washing our souls from the cross. With all this rejection and abandonment by all his “friends”, did Jesus seek somehow hold back, minimize or even stop the service he was going to offer? Did he judge and evaluate and come to a conclusion on who was worthy to have their feet washed in that room? Obviously, the answer is “No!” He laid it down for all in that upper room and for all people until the end of time.

Let us examine our own service in light of Jesus’ service. Is it my constant preoccupation to let people know about the greatest service of all time- Jesus washing away our sins from the cross and ushering us into the knowledge of eternal life today through our experience of Jesus’ washing? Or do I continue to let people die in the hopeless of a life without forgiveness and God? So many people condemn themselves in hopelessness all the day long. So many think that they cannot approach Christ because they do not believe that their life is worthy of his. Multitudes do not know that Christ has set them free and all they have to do is cry out for his washing. Jesus’ washing of our sins is the one thing we really want to know in all our knowing. So, what are you doing about that? How are you putting skin to the greatest service of all time? How many people are you letting die in the hopelessness of their sin because you will not open your mouth?

Put skin to Jesus forgiveness. If not you, then who will? We have to open our mouths and lay it down all the time for everyone- just the way Jesus put skin to it. We can’t hold back, minimize or stop talking about it just because we know that others might reject, betray or flee us. We have to put skin to it. We are the only skin Jesus has!

Teresa of Avila reminds us to put skin to Jesus by offering others his washing:

Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands but yours,
No feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ’s compassion must look out on the world.
Yours are the feet with which
he is to go about doing good.
Yours are the hands with which
He is to bless us now.

God’s will!
+Fr. John