2/2/11 - No Slave Is Greater Than His Master

John 13:15-17

I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
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These two verses pack a lot of punch.  This occurs in the upper room, immediately after Jesus washes the disciples' feet.

Christ says that he has given a model for the disciples to follow.  How does one follow Christ's model?  I'm not called to the priesthood like they were, but what can I take away from this and apply to my life today?

Here's how I see it.  Christ humbled himself.  He suffered, to the point of death.  He didn't complain.  He may well have wished that he could "pass the cup,"  but he drank the cup and he didn't gripe about it.

I am a slave, and I am not greater than Him, so I should strive to follow that model.  I should strive to follow it with my boss, my co-workers, my clients, my wife, my children, and they guy who's car is stuck in the snow.  Christ has given us a divine call to serve.

It is easy to for me to think that I can't live that way.  It's impossible.  He's perfect, I'm not.  No matter what I do, I will always fall short.  I really used to believe that.  I now understand that those thoughts come from the Satan -- the Father of Lies.

Remember ... with Christ ALL things are possible.  We have Him at our disposal.  If we desire to conform to His will, and ask Him for help, he WILL help us.  That is His promise to us.  This is what he meant when He told us to seek His kingdom and His righteousness. 

The world is filled with people who have walked this way.  In the Catholic Church, we call them Saints.  We know how they lived their lives.  They have shown us what is possible when you conform to God's will.  They understood and followed, and were blessed.  We celebrate their lives and read their histories, because they stand as testimony that "mere men" can, have, and will continue to walk Christ's path. 

That path is open to each and every one of us!  The gate is narrow and the way is constricted, but it is open, and if we submit to Christ, He will guide us.