tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736427810720155529.post168539039421060791..comments2023-08-09T07:48:53.962-04:00Comments on Bear Witness to the Light: This Is My Body Given For You; This Cup Is The New Covenant In My Blood; Do This In Remembrance Of Me.Fr. John L. Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16167510362871783781noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736427810720155529.post-50514930290229112692010-04-01T11:12:03.092-04:002010-04-01T11:12:03.092-04:00There is no doubt that heels - or more precisely, ...There is no doubt that heels - or more precisely, ankles - are a very vulnerable part of the human anatomy. In the Achillead, written in the 1st century AD, Thetis, mother of Achilles, dipped his body into the River Styx to make him immortal, but he was left vulnerable by the part of the body she was holding - his heel. <br /><br />As you mentioned, Sarah, in Genesis 3:15, the Lord speaks to the serpent: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." But if you consider carefully the meaning of the verse, the power of the Tempter, represented by the serpent, over the children of God is limited, while the Son of Eve who is at the same time the Son of God has the greater power. <br /><br />One last point: The gospels make it clear that Jesus' washing the feet of his disciples did not impart invulnerability to them. Within the next several hours, Judas will betray him, and Peter will deny him three times. <br /><br />The promise is that God will grant us sufficient grace to resist temptation and avoid sin -- absolutely. But we must use our freedom of choice to cooperate with this grace, else we will "turn our ankles", stumble and fall.Fr. John L. Sullivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16167510362871783781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4736427810720155529.post-51115102563283586112010-04-01T08:57:18.636-04:002010-04-01T08:57:18.636-04:00The disciples are clean all over, but their feet m...The disciples are clean all over, but their feet must be washed by Jesus because 'Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me'.<br /><br />The importance of the feet to a shared inheritance reminds me of Genesis: 'I shall put enmity between your offspring and hers; it will bruise your head and you will strike its heel.' Christ is foreshadowed here and connected to all humanity by the heel's vulnerability to and power over the snake. Perhaps the shared inheritance has its roots in this promise.<br /><br />Not so long ago, people made the gruesome discovery of a heel bone from a first century crucifixion victim. A bent nail goes right through it, rather like an enormous snake's tooth. <br /><br />It's strange that even in the Greek myth of Achilles, the heel is vulnerable because it had not been immersed.<br /><br />I suppose I am imagining that, when Christ enclosed his disciples' feet within his own hands - immersing them in himself - he imparted the special power of his own unique vulnerability.Sarah in the tenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13680566205364331756noreply@blogger.com