The gospel today is a wonderful passage explaining what our religion is all about. I really love this passage for a number of reasons, especially because the humanity of Jesus comes through. In this passage Jesus is emphasizing his humanity, and emphasizing our divinity. We must remember that Jesus was born of a woman and became man, human like we are. And here he is telling us not to worship him but to follow his example. He says that what he has done we can do. He is our good example leading us on the right path, and if we follow his example, we will be living good lives.
Jesus is at the core a man who laid down his life for his friends, his fellow humans. And how noble it would be for us to do the same. The epitome of Christianity is for us to love our neighbors the same way Christ loves us — totally and to death. He loves people so much that he died for them. To be good Christians, we should love people that much. Again he says to follow his example. He does not call us slaves because slaves have no insight into the master and must blindly follow orders. Christians are not slaves blindly following orders. Jesus has told us what to do but more than that has explained why. And he is not giving orders to slaves unable to question, he is living the life he wants us to live, and hoping we live it through our free will. We are not slaves, but his friends following his good example.
He chose us to help us and to show us his good example. Our living a life like his is how we become like him in many ways. Our following his good example will put us on the right path, and it will also make us good examples for others and let these ideas and examples bear fruit by spreading them to others. We can follow his example to live good lives, and by following his example we can be examples to others and perpetuate his teachings. All he did was for love of us, and if we are like him our good works can be for love of our fellows. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
Tamora Whitney
I teach in the English department. I teach composition and literature and Critical Issues -- a class that has a component on Jesuit values.
I like writing these reflections because it makes me think more deeply about the scripture and think about how to integrate the ideas into my own life and how to share these ideas with others.
