THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
But this is not one and the same thing, for He is Teacher and Lord, while you are fellow servants among yourselves.
What, then, does "so" mean? With the same zeal.
For this reason He takes examples from what is greater, so that we may do at least what is lesser.
So teachers write very beautiful letters for children, that they may imitate them, even if imperfectly.
What, then, of those who despise their fellow brothers? What of those who demand honors?
Christ washed the feet of the betrayer, the sacrilegious man, and the thief. At the very time of the betrayal, despite his lack of repentance, He made him a sharer in the table.
And do you grow proud and puffed up?
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You will say, then, that we must wash one another's feet, and therefore even the feet of slaves? What is remarkable if even those of slaves?
Here slave and free differ only in name. There, the difference is in the very reality.
Christ is Lord by nature, and we are slaves. Yet He did not refuse to do even this.
But now we must be content if we do not treat even free men as slaves and purchased bondservants.
What shall we say then, we who have examples of such long-suffering, yet do not imitate them at all?
Instead, we act in the opposite way, exalting ourselves without measure and failing to render what is due.
For God, having first done this Himself by washing feet, made us debtors to one another.
Yet we are obliged to render to one another less than what He did. He is Lord, while we, if we do this, do it for fellow servants like ourselves.
He indicated this very thing by the words, "If I then, the Lord and Teacher," and again, "so also you."
He should have said, "How much more you, who are servants." But He left this to the conscience of the hearers.
Why, then, did He do this now? Because the disciples were soon to be counted worthy of honor, some greater and others lesser.
Therefore, so that they would not exalt themselves over one another and say as before, "Who is greater?" and so that they would not be indignant against one another, He removes arrogance from them all.
He says, in effect, "Even if you are very great, you must not exalt yourself at all over your brother."
He did not say the greater thing: "If I washed the feet of the betrayer, what great thing is it if you wash one another's feet?"
Rather, having shown this by the deed itself, He left the spectators to judge it.
Therefore He said, "Whoever does and teaches them shall be called great" (Mt 5:19), because to teach truly means to fulfill by the deed itself.
What arrogance will such teaching not destroy? What pride and haughtiness will it not overthrow?
He who sits upon the cherubim washed the betrayer's feet. And you, man, earth and ashes, dust and dirt, exalt yourself and think highly of yourself?
What Gehenna, then, will you deserve?
If you truly wish to have lofty thoughts, come, and I will show you the way, because you do not even know what it means.
Whoever clings to present things as though they were something great has a low soul.
Therefore humility of mind can exist only with greatness of soul, and arrogance only from lowness of soul.
Little children are attached to trifles, to balls, hoops, and bones, and cannot even conceive of great things.
So it is here. Whoever pursues wisdom will count present goods as nothing. Therefore he will neither wish to have them himself nor take them from another.
But whoever does not pursue wisdom will think otherwise. He will be attached to a spider's web, to a shadow, to dreams, and to what is still more worthless than these.