What is even more astonishing is that on both occasions Jesus commands us to do the same. After washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus says, “I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you” (John 13:15). After giving himself as food and drink, he says, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Jesus calls us to continue his mission of revealing the perfect love of God in this world. He calls us to total self-giving. He does not want us to keep anything for ourselves. Rather, he wants our love to be as full, as radical, and as complete as his own. He wants us to bend ourselves to the ground and touch the places in each other that most need washing. He also wants us to say to each other, “Eat of me and drink of me.” By this complete mutual nurturing, he wants us to become one body and one spirit, united by the love of God.
Henri Nouwen from “The Road to Daybreak. Read in “Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter“.
Tag: quote
“The old men used to say that we should each look upon our neighbour’s experiences as if they were our own. We should suffer with our neighbour in everything and weep with him, and should behave as if we were inside his body; and if any trouble befalls him, we should feel as much distress as we would for ourselves.”
The Sayings of the Desert Fathers.