Jn 13:1-15 Who Needs God?

Jn 13:1-15 Who Needs God?

(Click here for readings)

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

Atheists claim the Universe explains itself. They say, “If God exists, then who needs Him?” After all, the earth does not rotate on its axis because God spins it like a wheel of fortune. The sun does not rise and set because God lifts it up and down like an on/off switch. The rain does not come down because God turns it on like a shower. So, who needs God? If he exists, he is unnecessary.

But if these are the arguments used by atheists to prove that God is unnecessary, then the same types of arguments may be used to prove that God is necessary. For it is like saying who needs a heart of compassion if all you need is a heart that pumps? Or who needs a conscious if all you need are laws written in books? Who needs love if all you need is bread and water? We could go deeper and deeper and say who needs poetry or music or dance or friends if all you need is to hunt and gather? Who needs God if all you need is what you see and what you eat?

“During supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Master, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.’”

Who needs God if you can wash your own feet?

The Lord is greater than a mechanic; He is a friend. He is greater than Almighty; He is a slave. God is greater than a physicist; He is a poet, a musician, a lover. Who needs someone who is efficient and highly practical when you can have a Lover that is neither and happier?

Are all creatures necessary? Are their varying shapes and sizes and colors required by law? Of course not! God is an artist. He loves to paint. He loves to create. He even loves to recreate; to re-create. The Lord is not subject to our tests. He is not our Ginny pig. He is not our science project. He is Lord. And you won’t find “Lord” in the index of your AP Biology textbook just like you won’t find art, music, dance, love, compassion and mercy. And yet, they are as essential and as necessary as the brain nestled in my skull and the heart slightly off-center behind my ribs!

It wasn’t enough for the Lord to preach to his Apostles. It was necessary that he lived what he preached. It’s not enough to know what to do to survive. It is necessary to know what to do to succeed: to be happy. And to be happy means to be loved, cost whatever it costs; sacrifice whatever must be sacrificed.

I was in the Philippines at this time two years ago, during Holy Week. It was an amazing experience. I, along with a group of high school students, went to an island that was considered a level five island: no electricity, no running water, and no medical facilities. The island was filled with some of the sickest people I have ever met and some of the poorest people I have ever seen in my life. But I did not come to the people to give them food or clothing. I did not come to them to give them money. I built nothing while I was there. And yet, they loved me and they loved the kids too. They fell in love with us because we came to them. They fell in love with us because we fell in love with them. We fell in love with them because they made us feel special. They fell in love with us because we made them feel special. If you think about it, this is exactly what the Lord did. He did not end poverty or war or famines or illness. He did not put an end to corruption or violence or dictators. He came to us to love us. He came to us because He wanted us to know how special we are. Just like me and my kids, this is all that we did and I can honestly say they loved us.

But what really shocked me, beyond belief, is how they loved me more than ever after I washed their feet. Who would do this? God would. Not only did the Lord wash our feet, He washed our entire body, mind and soul. He cleansed us by the waters of His love and the blood of His life. He changed us.

“What I have done for you, you should also do.”

“Who needs God?” is like saying, “Who needs love? or "Who needs a child?" or "Who needs the elderly?" or "Who needs the poor?" In reality, it is like saying, "Who needs me?” The answer is: all of us, including God!