Admiration

first of all,

to look at the other

requires us

to stop looking

at ourselves.

but it is only from a lower position,

in the act of looking up,

that we can

a d m i r e.

in looking down,

we have created

pedestals,

declaring

a greater and less than.

to truly love

is not to have attachment

to positions,

roles in relationships,

or status.

to serve

not out of piety

or privilege.

but an honest

reverence

and adoration

for the other.

the pain -

yet the l o v e -

mary felt

looking up

to her son,

suffering.

the cross represents

the lowly,

yet

she

still

looks

up.

only by being lower than the other,

are we at an angle to possess

admiration.

God came,

in flesh,

to prove this point.

"jesus took off his outer garments,

tied a towel around his waist,

put water in a basin,

and began washing the disciples feet."

how often do we respond like peter?

"you shall never wash my feet,"

he says.

unafraid of the power and worth

of God's love

and to be truly seen

by the highest among all.

jesus responds to peter,

and to us,

"if i do not wash you,

you have no part of me."

God loves his own

who were in the world,

until the end.

do we not wish to share

our joy and truth

with those we love?

and we feel rejected

when our beloved

doesn't want to engage

in our passions.

don't reject this, dear disciple.

let Him wash your feet.

let Him love you.

let Him serve you.

let Him look up at you,

in admiration.

-so we may do the same-

a master is not greater than his servant,

and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him.

be ready to

h u m b l e

yourself before the other -

love requires it.

it began:

jesus was looking up at mary

while in the manger.

and when it was finished:

mary was looking up at jesus

on the cross.

although in posture you may be looking down

at the sick

in a hospital bed,

at the poor

in a corner of the street,

at your loved one

in pain.

may you continue to look up

from your soul to theirs.

a l w a y s

find

something

to

admire.

no matter how small.

and hold onto that.

for

this -

is how to maintain

the dignity

of the human person.