The Rt. Rev. Jake Owensby, bishop of the Diocese of Western Louisiana, wrote a moving and thoughtful article about his relationship with his mother and its imperfections, experienced through the lens of processing her belongings after her death. Mother’s Day can be difficult for many people, because recent death of the mother (or child), estrangement, abuse, childlessness when the person wants a child, and so many other reasons. Bishop Owensby’s piece is a graceful look into the challenges of the mother-child relationship, in the context of the Gospel.
“The foot washing signifies the Way of Jesus. We all come together with dirt between our toes. No exceptions. We imperfect people accept and nurture and bear with other imperfect people.
People with dirty feet wash people with dirty feet. And yes, we will get each other’s dirt on each other in the process of getting clean. Our hands will retain the smell of each other’s feet. Christ himself resides in the very flesh of those who wash and those who need to be washed.”
The full article can be found here at the Huffington Post.