MASTER AND SERVANT
Enter into the mystery of being master and servant. Look at your neighbors and pick up the towel. With authority grounded in humility, kneel before them and wash off the dirt of daily living. If you are the neighbor in need of washing, lay aside your pride and, like Peter, accept the service of the one kneeling before you. Then go, and do likewise. Be blessed as you wash the feet of others and reveal the face of the Master through the towel in your hands.
Alma L. Maish—Excerpt from “Master and Servant,” published in Living Prayer Magazine and People’s Companion to the Breviary Volume I.
posted by Alma Maish @ 5:05 AM
2 Comments:
At 8:38 AM,
Anonymous said…
I am interested in reading more of your thoughts... I wondered what got cut off. I'll look for the rest of your thoughts in the future.
At 9:09 AM,
Anonymous said…
'pick up your towel'...'go and wash the feet of others' when said like that sounds grandiose. But when I translate it into pick up your screw driver and go help your neighbor fix his car, then I start to relate better. It makes me think of this from two perspectives.
First, from the perspective of the neighbor. What do I, the neighbor, have that is in need of service? Is it a broken car, a broken heart, a broken relationship? Or is it more simply a constant need for love.
Second, from my perspective as the server, what service, better yet, what gifts do I have that allow me to serve my neighbor. Is it a set of tools, labor, knowledge? Or is it a listening ear, a compassionate heart, a smile and good cheer?
I can't help but pause and think, what help would one be when he offers his neighbor a hammer when window cleaner is whats needed.
Inside of all this is the realization that each of us is both the servant and the served.
As a servant, what gifts are you blessed with?
As one being served, what do you have in need of service?
I need to reflect more on this. I will share my thoughts on the other side of my reflection.
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