Fulton J. Sheen, in his Life of Christ, says this about Peter when he refuses to have his feet washed by Jesus:
“The Divine Master did not impart knowledge to Peter, and then ask him to submit. He asked him to submit, with the promise that it would all be made clear later on. The light became clearer as he followed it. If he had turned his back on it, the gloom would have increased. The Master washed clean, though Peter still protested, as the mother washes the face of her infant, though the child complains. The mother waits not for the child to know what she is doing, but completes her work of love. The tree does not understand the pruning, nor the land the plowing, nor can Peter understand the mystery of this great humiliation, as he says:
“I will never let Thee wash my feet;
And Jesus answered him,
If I do not wash thee, it means
Though hast no companionship with Me. (John 13:8)”
Beautiful insights, beautifully expressed by Archbishop Sheen (as usual).
The light becomes clearer as we follow it.
How many times have I thought, Now I understand. How many times have I thought, How could I have been so foolish? G. K. Chesterton said in his Introduction to the Book of Job, “The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.”
With all this in mind, I see that I will be better off and more secure in mind, body, and spirit when I act on my belief in God, rather than on my own guesswork. I notice that there is an intersection in this idea of faith and common sense.
In fact, common sense reinforces my faith in every detail of the day; in my experience every teaching of Jesus has proven to be true, although not always immediately and not always obviously. And there can be no doubt that his teachings were given to us in the spirit of infinite love.
How can He not be trusted?
