Reading: Psalm 116:15-19

LORD God,
I want to serve you.
Today, please show me
how I can be the best possible servant
to you and those around me.
Open my eyes to the needs of others.
I want to serve with a heart
filled with gratitude and joy.
Amen.

— — — —

It was just before the Passover Festival.
Jesus knew that the hour had come for him
to leave this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world,
he loved them to the end.

The evening meal was in progress,
and the devil had already prompted Judas,
the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things
under his power,
and that he had come from God
and was returning to God;
so he got up from the meal,
took off his outer clothing,
and wrapped a towel around his waist.
After that, he poured water into a basin
and began to wash his disciples’ feet,
drying them with the towel
that was wrapped around him.
(John 13:1-5 NIV)*