Christian discipleship is the journey into a relationship with Jesus that deepens and grows. It is a kind of mutual bonding between Jesus, when he called us to follow him, and we, followers when we say yes from our heart. His love exceeds what he receives in return. He affirms our faith through telling us “be not afraid” recurrently although we always show fear and hesitation.
The path of discipleship may not be an easy journey and we need a community to support each other. However, the differences among the community of disciples may bring frustration and it is especially this time for us to learn how to live in harmony and nurture the sense of inclusiveness.
For me, Jesus’ own behavior of walking, eating and drinking with the poor inspires me to accept people who were considered worthless and treated as invisible. This challenges me to build connection with the marginalized and treat them equally. Some years ago, after taking a class on "spirituality and liberation" and a workshop on linking massage therapy with spirituality, I started volunteering for the Care Through Touch Institute, a non-profit organization which serve the marginalized through massage therapy. I hope to integrate my spirituality with serving the poor and underprivileged through this social ministry. I give upper body massage (neck, shoulder, back, head and hands) to people in a self-help community center about twice a month. This service also reminds me to pray for the homeless and marginalized people, and be more aware of the social policies relating to this.
I agree more and more that as a disciple of Jesus, my prayers need actions to back up and my spiritual practices urges me to act according to the teaching of Jesus.
In the past Holy Thursday, I did foot massage for the first time. I attended a one-day workshop to learn how to do it. It was not just a skill-learning workshop, Mary Ann, the director of the institute, and Pamela showed us the sacredness of serving others through foot massage. They also alerted us to pay more attention to our own bodies and the connection among all of us who gave and received massage. Giving massage on Holy Thursday was a profound experience for me. It reminded me how Jesus served people through washing their feet. He called us to “go and do likewise.” That’s what I tried to do.
