James Tissot, 1836-1902
Le lavement des pieds, between 1886 and 1894
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
Brooklyn Museum
Just for today I am going to think of one way to love one other person.
I may smile at a stranger.
I may invite someone to tea.
I may respond with patience to someone who is irritating me.
I may contact someone who is lonely.
I may thank someone for being there for me.
[Jesus said,] “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” John 15:12
Empress Dowager Cixi, 1838-1908
Vines with fruit
ink and water color on silk, first half of 19th c.
Warsaw, National Museum
via Wikimedia Commons
If my heart remains open to and my mind stays focused on Jesus’ teaching to love God, my neighbor, and myself, I can count on being pruned.
Pride, arrogance, selfishness, self-centeredness, shame, low self-esteem, self-pity: these are traits God will prune in order that the fruit I bear in the world ripens into compassion, kindness, acceptance, forgiveness, peace, faith, and love.
[Jesus said to his disciples:] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” John 15:1-2
Anton Mauve, 1838-1888
Shepherd and Sheep
oil on canvas, ca.1880
Cincinnati Museum of Art
via Wikimedia Commons
Sometimes I lay down my life for a while when a friend is in need. I put aside my own chores, amusements, or quiet time to listen and encourage. When the time is right, I take up my life again and go on.
Sometimes I lay down my life for a while when my elderly father needs an advocate. I make phone calls, ask for information, and get some answers on his behalf. When the time is right, I take up my life again and go on.
I have the power to lay down my life for the moment and help others. I have the power to take up my life again and move on without having lost myself. It is my privilege and calling to exercise this power in a way that reflects the example of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
[Jesus said:] “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.” John 10:18
![Andrey Mironov oil on cnavas, 2010(Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Appearances_of_Jesus_Christ..jpg)
Andrey Mironov
Peace be with you! (Christ appearing to the apostles)
oil on canavas, 2010
[CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Today I will open my mind to hear the call of God’s word.
Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. Luke 24:45
Jacek Andrzej Rossakiewicz (b.1956)
Jesus Appears to Thomas (St John Passion – 13), 1990
oil on canvas
Do not be afraid when your heart has closed down. Do not worry when your mind races in panic. Do not resist the darkness of confusion. The Lord finds his way through every obstacle to bring you peace.
Be at peace. He is here with you now.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” John 20:26b
Sometimes the way is still dark and I have no clarity. In these moments, I need to keep moving toward the Lord. Some day I will understand.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead. John 20:9
Do not be afraid of human weakness. Do not be afraid to call out to God from the depths of vulnerability.
Blame, anger, despair, abandonment: give voice to it all. Bow your head and give it all to the Lord.
We have our model in Jesus.
And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
which is translated,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34
Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)
Nicodemus and Jesus on a Rooftop, 1899
oil on canvas
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
via Wikimedia Commons
God so loves us that he trusts us to be his hands, voice, eyes, ears, heart, and compassion in the world.
In order that we learn how to become more like God, he apprentices us to Jesus. Ours is not academic learning; it is experiential learning where we practice by watching and imitating Jesus.
Heal, eat with sinners, speak out against injustice, serve the poor, pray, love your enemies, lay down your life for others.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” John 3:16
Christ
Rembrandt or workshop (1606-1669)
oil on oak, circa 1648-1656
Philadelphia Museum of Art
via Wikimedia Commons
Nothing that happens to us, nothing we do, nothing we feel is a surprise to Jesus. In his humanity, he felt anger at the money changers and sadness at the death of Lazarus. He blamed the fig tree for not producing fruit. He accused God of abandoning him on the cross. He loved us so much he gave his life for us.
Jesus is one of us. He knows us. He knows we are capable of indifference and of compassion. He knows we can be stiff-necked and insist on our own way and he knows we have what it takes to surrender our life and will to God’s care.
Perhaps the only surprise is for us: God trusts us to be fully human and loves us just as we are.
But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well. John 2:24-25
![By Frank S De Hass, [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tabor_1887.jpg)
By Frank S De Hass, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
It isn’t exactly hope that keeps me following the Lord up this mountain. It’s more an unwillingness—today—to give up. I’m doing my best to make this climb an opportunity to practice patience and compassion and to put my trust in Jesus.
Maybe it is hope. I keep climbing in the hope of being led to a place of transfiguration, a place of perfect peace, acceptance, and wholeness.
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. Mark 9:2
Mary Ann McSweeny 
.jpg){kind=link}