Status Updates From Jezus

“The most difficult thing may be the crushing inevitability. You want to escape from your life which suddenly feels like an oncoming train about to run you down. It’s the shock you feel when you receive a frightening diagnosis. When you’re laid off from a job. When a friend or family member dies. When a relationship ends. You say to yourself, ‘This cannot be happening.’ (Gethsamane, p. 364)

“…In John’s Gospel, the foot washing is more about the mutual service of friendship, a mutual sharing of gifts that in no way implies any sort of domination. The message is not that the master has become the slave, but that all are on the same level. After Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet, he challenges them to do the same for each other and to see that all are equal friends in the kingdom…” (p. 348)

“Beside her brother’s tomb, she is blunt. Martha can be seen as a female counterpart to Peter: a strong, impetuous, outspoken friend of Jesus who believes even as she feels free to question. The memories of her retained in the Gospels are so vivid that she likely was a formidable figure in the early church. Martha’s fierce honesty also reminds us that Jesus included strong women among his circle of friends.”