Tomorrow night, we will gather to remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. Knowing that soon he will have to leave them, he gives them a final commandment: “Love each other as I have loved you.” To show them what this love looks like, he wraps himself in a towel and stoops down like a servant to wash their feet.
Jesus has a dream of how his followers will treat each other. He knows it will be hard for us to learn to love and serve each other. Even as he tries to tell his disciples what to do, Peter argues with him, insisting that Jesus must act like a master, not a servant.
Later that night, the ties of love between them will be stretched to the breaking point. Judas will betray Jesus to the authorities. Peter, terrified that he will be taken too, will deny that he ever knew Jesus. From that day on, Christians have failed in love countless times, turning on each other and using Jesus’ name against other people. Jesus shared his dream anyway. And the dream lives on. Jesus’ words have inspired extraordinary acts of love. Christians have given their riches to feed the poor, risked their lives to serve the sick, stood up to unjust laws, sheltered innocents from violence, and accepted outcasts as brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus teaches us to share our dreams, even when we doubt they will ever come true. One dream inspires another, spreading its seeds far and wide. Our hopes take root in unexpected places, sometimes places we will never see. Let us give our dreams to our Lord, and trust the God of all growing things to make them bloom.
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