When I was in elementary school, there was a girl whose family was very poor. Dad was often absent, and Mom was always pregnant. The kids came to school in dirty clothes. My friends made a wide skirt around them because they stunk!
I decided the girl needed a friend, so I invited her to my birthday party, much to the horror of my other girlfriends. Subsequently, I was invited to her home for her birthday. That’s when I discovered the root of her hygiene problem: with no washing machine, wet and dirty diapers were spread on the radiators to dry and be reused.
I think of this when I read our gospel story. Jesus does something amazing, he washes his friends’ feet. Feet that have walked through every kind of filth and must have stunk to high heaven! He loves those stinky friends to death and sets an example for all of us.
“Love one another. As I have loved you…” Oh, Jesus, do I have to? That’s so hard! But it’s your new commandment. Give me strength.
Jesus, you love me, even when I’m full of the stink of life. Please show me how to love even one other the same way, in your name. Amen. —