Service is a Manifestation of Love
By Sneha Bentley '14, Baccalaureate Mass Gospel Reflection
“What can we bring to the Lord?” asks
the prophet Micah.
What does God want from us?
Think about it: God—author of
everything that is, was, and ever will be—
blessed us with life. He sustains us and
watches over us. He guides our lives to
understanding and goodness. He handed
his only Son over to the world, to us. God
knows us better than we know ourselves.
We are transparent to him. He sees
everything. He knows our thoughts and
our hearts and our souls and every single
choice we will ever make in our lives. He
knew us before we even were, and He loves
us beyond measure. So, what can we do to
give back to God? How do we even begin
to thank him?
A reading from the Gospel of John
helps us to answer this question. People
knew Jesus as “Teacher and Lord,” but in
this story, he still tied a towel around his
waist and proceeded to wash his disciples’
feet. Teachers and lords do not serve
their pupils and subjects in such a way.
Especially in Jesus’ time, teachers and lords
retained a high position in society. Their
social status ensured that they did not need
to care about what happened to the people
“below them.” But Jesus did. He cared so
much, he brought himself below them
and he washed their feet. In those days,
feet were dusty and gross because of the
walking people did to get from one place
to another. There weren’t any cars to shield
them from the elements. They walked.
That Jesus even touched his disciples’ feet,
let alone washed them, is a true display of
his humility, his willingness to serve, and
his love for us.
Jesus’ example is amazing. It is what we
should strive to model our lives after. His
actions teach us that, if we truly love God
and others, our love will express itself in
service.
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Like Jesus, we serve others because we
love them. I’m not talking about the sort of
love you have for your car, your clothes, or
your favorite food. We serve others because
of a generous, selfless, gentle, concerned,
agape love that God shares with us. As
human beings created in God’s image, we
have the capacity to love as God loves. This
love doesn’t care about history, but gives
freely of itself to anybody it encounters.
I’m talking about a kind, genuine
concern for the rest of humanity, a love that
keeps us moving forward. This love makes
us notice the injustices in the world, and it
keeps us fighting against them. It motivates
us to help strangers and even people we
don’t really like. How can we love these
people? We don’t need to know anything
about them, just that they are our fellow
human beings. That is enough. Let us allow
this love, modeled by Jesus and very much
a part of each of us, to color our every
thought and deed and word.
These four years at Carondelet have
taught us all to love our dear neighbor,
that’s for sure. People have done incredible
things and given up so much of their time
and energy for causes