Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 28, 2024
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him,
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Simon Peter said to him,
“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Jesus said to him,
“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all.”
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
I’m a bartender. I’ve worn a few other hats in life, too, but the hospitality industry makes this passage resonate with me (and I hope with you as well).
I have a young colleague who is the “Peter” behind our bar—–always performing what he thinks the script should be and typically missing the point of what’s actually happening around him. He’s seen enough Instagram posts of great cocktails in great bars that he thinks the cocktail is the entirety of the experience.
Of course, the cocktail should be exceptional. It’s just not really the point. Just as I have to assume Jesus did a terrific job washing his disciples’ feet, but that was never really the point either. They are all already clean––Jesus even says as much. If washing were truly a need, it would have happened the moment they entered the home, not when it does, when supper is mostly through.
In both situations, the real point is not the action itself but the relationship that manifests within it. That is what matters.
It may seem an odd parallel to make on this most Holy Thursday—that bartending in a noisy lounge somehow mirrors the solemn washing of feet as a riot is brewing outside—but their purposes are much the same: through the hustle and bustle, the noise and distraction, see the other and serve them genuinely.
There is not one of us more different from any other than all of us are from the greatness that is God. If God kneels and washes our feet, dare we do any less?
The year to come will be challenging. From spring and summer right through the first week of November, the performative noise swirling around us will only get louder, distracting us more and more from God’s lesson shown in this passage. Let us continually remind ourselves that, from God’s perspective, the other is only ever us in different shoes.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, there is much in this world we struggle to understand. It is hard to grasp why one might betray a friend, why suffering enters our lives, or why the righteous sometimes pay for the sins of others. Such is the darkness that sets at the end of this holy day. Yet in this moment of uncertainty, you give us a sure model of how to live. As the Lord washed his disciples’ feet, so he calls us to do the same. Teach us, Heavenly Father, how to be more like your Son. Teach us how to suffer with dignity; how to accept the mysteries of life we cannot understand. Instruct us in the ways of love, so that we may be true disciples of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Saint of the Day

St. Conon is a popular local saint in Sicily. He was born in the middle of the twelfth century and is credited with saving the town of Naso from famine.
St. Conon was a monk, most accounts say of the order of St. Basil of Caesarea. The most colorful tale of St. Conon tells the story of a miraculous vision he had while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Conon traveled from Italy to Jerusalem. While in Jerusalem, Conon dreamed that a priest he knew back home in Sicily was being strangled by a snake. This disturbing nightmare apparently stuck with Conon.
Months later, upon his return home to Sicily, Conon told the priest about the dream. Feeling the pangs of a guilty conscience, the priest instantly confessed to Conon that he had been stealing funds from the Church and using the money for his own selfish desires.
Conon died on March 28, 1236, in Naso, Sicily, which has honored him as its patron since.
In 1571, the people of Naso were suffering from a terrible famine. A ship appeared in the nearby port, bringing a hold full of precious grain to the hungry villagers. The captain of the ship credited his rerouting to Naso to a miraculous vision of Conon, telling him to sail there. Thus, the people of Naso were saved.
St. Conon of Naso, pilgrim and miracle-worker—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Conon of Naso is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Modified from the original. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.