Foot Washing
It is Maundy Thursday.
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. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. - John 13:1-17
Tonight, as part of our Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday service, we will wash each other's feet.
We do this as a reminder of our service and love for one another, reenacting both what Jesus did for his disciples and what he told them they should do for one another.
It is a throwback for us to a time when people traveled on foot and wore sandals. Their feet would get dirty and so when they arrived at someone's home, the host would have his servants wash their feet.
The host would never do it. It was the job of the servant. But Jesus turns that offer of hospitality upside down, making it something he does himself, as the host of the Passover meal.
Peter, as always, becomes overzealous and offers Jesus his head and hands as well, but Jesus reminds him that this is not about being made clean. It is an act of love.
We serve, not to raise others up to our level, but to lower ourselves in humility to, and among others.
When Jesus tells them to do this to one another, he is making it clear that no one is above all others, that all are humbled and all are servants to each other.
Bu in doing these things, he says, it will not make them greater than the one they do them for.
This is an important message for all of us, because we may tend to see ourselves as better than those we serve. They are the needy and we provide, but in God's eyes, that isn't how it works. We do these things out of love, for if we don't, then we are just serving our own egos.
So, today, I must remember why I serve.
And I will thank God for the opportunity.
More to come...