Did You Get The Call!

This week I received an invitation from the Sisters of the Good Shepherd to participate in an international committee on community life.  The Sisters have made it a priority to explore how they might renew their way of living community that will be a deeper expression of their life giving mission and consistent with the nature of the covenant relationship between God and all of creation…his people.  This is a humbling proposition to consider.   They said that they want the work of this committee to be a reflection of St. John’s Gospel Chapter 13.  So in my consideration of this invitation I went to the Gospels and  found the story of the Last Supper where Jesus is said to have washed the feet of his disciples.  That was not what I was expecting!  I kinda thought the reading might be about a prayerful relationship with God or something about being faithful to the Word of God.  But instead the reading showed how Jesus, the Master, became the servant to his disciples by washing their feet, how he exhorted them to be a servant to others and to love one another in a manner that emulated his love for them,  He said,  “you must love one another as I have loved you.”    All of this was in the metaphorical context of, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

There is a lot to reflect on here, but my immediate thoughts turned to a song recently written by a cherished friend who is no longer with us except through his memory and music.  Bob Carty wrote the following lyrics “You Washed Our Feet” on his Desert Eyes album.  Making this old story alive in today’s world is about the challenge which the sisters are embracing with great courage.  Now I am excited about being a part of this journey.  I will share these lyrics so that perhaps we might reflect on them together and prepare to look at community life in new ways:

YOU WASHED OUR FEET

It was a table long ago. 
You got up, put down your robe
A towel on your waist you tied, 
a water basin at your side
You knelt to those who follow you, 
Took off their dusty shoes
You touched our skin, our sin. 
You washed our feet.

You clean the flesh I cannot feel. 
You tend the wounds that never heal
You push my chair when legs can’t walk. 
You are my voice when I can’t talk.

You carried me down flights of stairs, 
when all the world was in despair
When buildings crumbled at our feet, 
and dust and rubble in the street.
You washed our feet

If I have washed you, so you, the other
If I have knelt before you, so you, one another

You stand alone at the barricade, 
in lingering tear gas and pepper spray
You offer roses to police. 
The crowd cries war, you whisper peace
You washed our feet

You spoke the truth in Salvador.
You spoke of God to the dogs of war
You looked into their lying eyes. 
You lift the host before you die
You washed our feet

Bob so beautifully pictured love of neighbour in service to vulnerable persons, the tragedy of 911, the civil unrest in many cities and the struggle for Justice for the poor of El Salvador by Oscar Romero. Is this how we might wash one another’s feet, how we really kneel before them?   Perhaps this is the heart’s desire of our courageous sisters around the world working in many countries where social unrest, religious persecution, extreme poverty and neglect and the denial of the rights of women and children is rampant.  How do we all unite as one people of Faith to bring the servant message of our Creator to one another everyday of our lives.  Is this the basis of our call?

What does this say to you?  What new eyes do we need to put on to see one another through a different, life-giving lens?   In what way is the essential spirit of community expressed where you work?  Is your team a microcosm of community?  Are your clients the people whose feet you wash?  Are we meant to model love for others through relationships founded on real compassion and dignity?  How can we nurture this call in one another in our daily lives both at work and home?

Cell Phone Blues

This was an ordinary Winter day.  Massive snow squalls and wind causing white outs that made driving a great risk. I had not checked the latest weather thinking that the snow storms predicted had passed us by.   I had appointments in the city so decided I would drive down to make it to these.  MISTAKE!   Half way down the white outs became so brutal,  I decided that I had better head back to the farm to play it safe.  I stopped and went to call, canceling my appointments.  Voila!  I forgot the cell at the farm!

Found my way to the nearest wi-fi place to send a message.  Done, but my Outlook wouldn’t send the email.  So then I searched for a pay phone….ever try to find one these days?  Finally, success and I called to leave a message.  It wasn’t received in a timely way and so I inconvenienced a couple of fine people with whom I was supposed to meet.  Fought my way back to the farm thinking that the messages were sent and I arrived safely (Thank the Lord) only to find out that the messages were not received.  YIKES! 

Oh boy, did I ever feel naked and vulnerable without my cell.  What if I went into a ditch?  They would have to dig out my frozen body next Spring and then I would not be able to apologize.  I was not prepared for the worst even in terms of warmest clothing, etc.  What a brain cramp!

This all made me stop and reflect on the good ol’ days.  You know no cells, no email and plenty of pay phones that cost only a dime.  Made me think of what we would have done then.  Well for starters we would have more vigilant of the weather, more predictive of what lay ahead and made the land line phone call to give some advance warning.  If push came to shove, we might have used smoke signals or the pony express to get the message through!  Point is, we would have taken more personal responsibility for our own safety and the convenience of others.  I did neither so I owe apologies to both colleagues and myself.

Lesson learned? 

This makes me think back to the founder of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.  She had no phones, email or anything other than ordinary letter writing.  In her life time (from 1835 until 1868) she established and maintained contact with 110 new missions around the world and stayed connected with each through faithful letter writing.  What a marvel of ancient technology!  This all has caused me to start to challenge myself  to a more faithful, relaxed and, yet, consistent manner of being in this modern, highly rushed society in which we live.  Less anxiety and more thoughtfulness might be the most revolutionary prescription we could issue ourselves in order to stay centred and healthy.  Think I will give it a valiant effort. 

But first, I need to go charge my cell phone, in case I miss an important message!