Daily Archives: April 2, 2026

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.
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.”

–John 13:12-17

A new realization hit me while listening to the Catholic Daily Reflections daily podcast episode for Holy Thursday. From the time I was a kid attending Catholic grade school, the focus on Holy Thursday has always been the physical act of Jesus washing the feet of his Apostles before the Last Supper. 

The opener of Holy Week. 

This year, fueled by the message of this podcast episode, I realized that one of the most important pieces of Christ’s entire ministry often gets buried between washing the feet and the Last Supper. It’s one line that tells us everything we need to do to be a follower of Christ. Everything necessary to be a true and faithful Christian. 

I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

It is a simple ask by Christ and not at all confusing or subject to interpretation. While Jesus often taught in parables whose meanings often required thought and contemplation to make sense of, there are several occasions where Jesus was concise and to the point. The directive given before they sat to break bread one last time is one of those cases.   

Throughout the Gospels, the instruction Jesus gives the Apostles after washing their feet might best represent the essence of being a Christian. Sadly, this directive from Jesus is often neglected or ignored throughout much of modern American Christianity, which increasingly leans toward Christian Nationalism. We have subverted Christianity through our own human lens to fit our daily life instead of following Christ’s principles as a guide for how to live.

We are called to a life in Christ with the directive to follow His model.

As He has done for us, we should also do for others.

And if we follow this simple directive from Christ, he promises we will be blessed.