→ LEARN MORE: Jesus Died, Suffered, and Rose from the Dead…why?
This month, we learned about The Paschal Mystery: the teaching that the central events of Jesus’s life—His Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection—lead to the salvation of the world. We learned about sacrifice and how any loving relationship requires sacrifice. Because of our broken relationship with God, we needed someone to help restore that relationship. God became man through the person of Jesus, and sacrificed Himself for His Creation. We connected this to the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1-12) where Jesus performs his first miracle at a wedding. By performing his first miracle at a wedding, Jesus is showing us that his sacrifice on the cross is meant to mimic that of a wedding; the mutual love and sacrifice a husband and wife have for each other points to Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross for humanity.
But…why did Jesus need to die in order to save us, and why did he have to die the way that he did: brutal and alone? Take a look at these two videos from The Religion Teacher and Bishop Barron on the Paschal Mystery:
The Paschal Mystery: Explained
Why Did Jesus Have to Die the Way He Did?
→ MONTHLY LECTIO DIVINA: John 13:1-20 (The Washing of the Disciples Feet)
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”
Questions to Consider
- Washing of another’s feet was a Jewish custom, where a non-Jewish servant (often a slave) washed the guest as a sign of hospitality. Especially after a long day of travel in dirt, dust, and other things in nature, washing of the feet was a gross task relegated to the lowest in the house. How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus was taking the place of a slave? How would you feel if Jesus was washing your feet?
- Jesus says to his disciples in John 15, “I have not called you servants, but friends.” How do you think this relates to this passage? What does it mean that Jesus is calling his disciples (and us!) friends?
→ MONTHLY VISIO DIVINA: The Crucifixion by Matthias Grünewald
About this Piece
Matthias Grünewald painted The Crucifixion as a panel for an Altarpiece in the hospital chapel of St. Anthony’s monastery. The monastery hospital specialized in the treatment of ergotism, an especially painful skin disease. The Christ figure in the painting is depicted as suffering from these same sores—a sign to the patients that Christ shared in their suffering. To Christ’s right, Mary Magdalene kneels in humble adoration and a swooning Mary is supported by the apostle John, the Beloved Disciple. To Christ’s left stands John the Baptist, holding an open book and pointing at the crucified Christ. In the background in Latin are words attributed to John the Baptist in the Gospel of John: illum oportet crescere, me autem minui (“He must increase, but I must decrease”). At John’s feet is a lamb with a cross, echoing other words by the Baptist, also recorded in John: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
(Source: https://www.christiancentury.org/article/crucifixion-matthias-gr%C3%BCnewald)
Questions to Consider
- What catches your eye about this picture? Describe why it catches your eye. What do you think God is trying to tell you through this? How do you see yourself in this picture?
- Have you ever been through a difficult situation where a friend or family member was beside you the entire time? What was the situation, and how did it make you feel that this person was beside you?
- Grünewald painted Jesus to look like the patients in the hospital in which this picture was placed. Sometimes when we’re really sick, it can be a really lonely and scary experience. How do you think the patients felt seeing Jesus look like them?
→ HOMEWORK
- Write a reflection on John 13:1-20 (The Washing of the Disciples Feet) using the questions as guidance (3-5 sentences).
- Write a reflection on The Crucifixion by Matthias Grünewald using the questions as guidance (3-5 sentences).
