Categories
Easter The Gospels

A Meditation on Maundy Thursday

He was their leader. The disciples hoped this was the beginning of a coup that would bring the Romans to their knees and usher in a new Davidic kingdom. So they were naturally shocked when he began to wash their feet, displaying the dirty business of Maundy Thursday.

It was a filthy job fit only for a slave. Yet here he was, stripped down to his undershirt and washing their dirty, ugly feet. This wasn’t the kind of coup they were expecting.

photo of person standing on grass illustrating dirty business of Maundy Thursday.
Photo by Edward Eyer on Pexels.com

The disciples were horrified. Peter said what everyone else was thinking (He usually did). “No! You’ll never wash my feet!” He couldn’t bear to think the Messiah he looked up to would humble himself to the point of humiliation.

But Jesus made it clear that Peter would have no part in this kingdom if he refused. So he continued by washing all twelve disciples’ feet, including the one who planned to turn him in to the authorities.

When Jesus finished, he wrapped up his lesson.

You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

John 13:13–15 (NKJV)

He gave them a new command, or mandate, to love one another. That isn’t easy. It’s the dirty business of Maundy Thursday.

Categories
Attitude growth

Why I Am Grateful to Be Alive

Every April 11 reminds me why I am grateful to be alive. It was sixty years ago, on April 11, 1965, when disaster struck. The day was a balmy Palm Sunday in Indiana. My mother was five months pregnant with me. Even though it was stormy, it was evening, and they were getting ready to go to church.

My grandparents lived about five miles southwest of my parents. My Uncle Preston was with them. As they were chatting, they suddenly felt things go deathly quiet. Uncle Preston rushed out to the mailbox. To the northwest, he saw the tornado. He ran back in and told everyone to get in the coal bin. He rushed to the phone to call my dad.

Categories
discipline growth motivation

Rooted and Established

Take a moment to ponder: where do you have your roots? Where are you established? Is it a place, your family? Or is it your career, maybe your possessions? Reflecting on these questions can lead to a deeper understanding of your values and beliefs.

We live in a time of great anxiety. Stock market portfolios look shaky. We fight over values and may even compromise our values because the ends justify the means.

Categories
Christmas holiday writing

Writing a Christmas Letter

A recent podcast made me consider the advantages of writing a Christmas letter instead of sending friends and family images from the year.

“You just can’t do [it] with a collection of selfies or any other kind of scenic images.

It requires a story. And the act of having to commit yourself to tell a story is an invitation to tell the full dimensions of that, or the fuller dimension.”

From Good Faith: Advent with Friends: Rethinking Heavenly Peace (with Andy Crouch), Dec 7, 2024

Curtis Chang explained photos, while they are good, can’t tell a complete story. We either choose the best images, because we desire to put out best foot forward, or we attempt to show an image that can exploit a situation.

Regarding Santa, a mood board with all a child’s requests is not quite the same as a handwritten letter. If you have a lot of hopes and fears to convey, a handwritten letter may be the way to go. It may be the only way for clearer Christmas requests.

Cartoon of a boy and a letter carrier at the post office. The boy says, "It's a letter to Santa. My hopes and fears of all the years are mailed with thee tonight."

It may be too late for me this year, but I may reconsider writing a Christmas letter next year. Check back with me then and see if I follow through.

Categories
motivation

Nobody Drifts to Success

It doesn’t matter what you want to achieve. Nobody gets there by happenstance. Nobody drifts to success. Sure, we hear stories that may convince us this is the case. Some are born with silver spoons in their mouths, but nobody drifts into doing something meaningful and successful.

Show up and do the hard work. Every Monday, be the one who faithfully puts in the hours and the effort because drifting isn’t a strategy. It’s a recipe for failure. I would rather make the effort and fail, than fail by default because I have never tried.

Let’s face it: it’s too easy to drift. The good news is that you can wake up and correct your course once you realize you are drifting.