Thursday in the Fourth Week of Easter

John 13:16-20

When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me. From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

“I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.”  One afternoon during one of the summers when I served as a live-in volunteer at the Gift of Peace in the mid 1980’s, I was walking down the long hallway towards the common room on the floor reserved for men with AIDS.  I was looking for one of the sisters.  As I approached the common room I could see one of the residents sitting on the big sofa, facing me, but with his face in his hands.  This man and I had had long talks together and he had told me his life story.  He was a middle aged man who had driven a truck.  He was unmarried but lived with his mother and his siblings when he was home.  He had caught the disease from a prostitute.  His family had disowned him and he was out on the street before the Sisters found him.  When I came to the doorway, I saw that the sister for whom I was looking was standing a few feet away from the sofa, talking quietly with him.  His whole body seemed to sag down to the floor with the weight of his broken heart and loneliness and fear.  Except for the man and the sister, there was no one else present.  The other residents had gone to their rooms after lunch.  Finally, he stood up, shaking.  The sister rushed to him and threw her arms around him and held him tightly.  He let out a deep sigh and he melted into her embrace.  It was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen.  It seemed like heaven had come down to earth.  She held him for some time.  I was finally able to tear myself away after a few minutes to wait for her in another room.  I thought that if this was the love of the servant, how great the love of the Master must be.