Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his
hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having
loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The
devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon
Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the
Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from
God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer
robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a
basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with
the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said
to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered,
‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will
understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’
Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’
Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands
and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not
need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are
clean, though not all of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him;
for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’ After
he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to
the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you?
You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I
am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example,
that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell
you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers
greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are
blessed if you do them. Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and
God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God
will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little
children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me;
and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going,
you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one
another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have
love for one another.’ (John
13:1-17, 31b-35)
Foot washing. It's
the one Christian ritual which the Lutherans of my little parish in
Northeast Philadelphia are a little squeamish about. But for me, I
just love the drama of reenacting the events of Our Lord's passion. I
think that our rituals have power—if we understand them, that is.
What could better demonstrate the intimate relationship Jesus has
with us and his call to servanthood better than washing someone's
smelly feet?
Pope Francis has
made a pretty big splash (no pun intended) in the news lately by the
feet he's chosen to scrub down. Today, he washed the feet of elderly
and handicapped individuals in an Italian nursing home. The most
famous man in the worlds (or at least one of the most famous)
has humbled himself before the feet of some of the most obscure and
forgotten people in the society. Last year, the pontiff was even more
outrageous when he washed the feet of teen offenders—some of whom
were Muslim—in a juvenile detention facility.
Tonight, I'll wash
the feet of eleven-year-old Kyle, who will be making his First Holy
Communion at the Maundy Thursday mass. Kyle isn't exactly a juvenile
offender (although he has a devilish enough gleam in his eye to
suggest that he might have some potential in that department!), but
he is a kid and I'm a middle-aged man who is his pastor and teacher.
And yet my baptism
is no more special than his.
That's the point
of the worship on this holy day. We are to recognize that there is no
“least” or “greatest” in the Kingdom of God. All of us are
called to be servants to each other and to the world. It's a
celebration of Christ's injunction to love through sacrifice. We give
up our own notions of self-importance or self-salvation.
Poor Peter (in
tonight's gospel lesson) doesn't get this at first. He's still trying
to micro-manage. He wants his Master to be an exalted person, and
tries to “out humble” Jesus by refusing to let Jesus be his
servant. When Jesus explains that they can never have the fullness of
the relationship God has intended for them until Peter allows Jesus
to serve him, he still tries to be in charge and directs Jesus how to
wash him. Poor guy. He just doesn't yet get that it's not all about
him.
But I feel for
Peter. As one who spent many years of my miss-spent youth gleefully
abusing alcohol, I had to come to the realization that I was pretty
powerless over my own stupidity. I kept on blowing huge sums of cash
trying to make myself feel like a big shot, risking my owns safety
and that of others—to say nothing of endangering my health and my
job and entering into some pretty toxic relationships. I finally had
to come to a point where I could admit that I was a screw-up, I had
no power to fix myself, and I needed someone else to help me.
I try to remember
that when I eat the meal that Christ commanded us to eat in his
memory. I've done nothing to save myself except give up and let Jesus
do his work. And if I have the power to do anything at all in this
relationship, it is only to try to emulate the humility Our Lord
showed on his way to the cross.
I always wince
just a little when, as I serve the wafer of Holy Communion and
pronounce the words “the body of Christ broken for you,” the
communicant responds with “thank you.”
Please don't thank
me. I didn't hang on a cross for you. I'm just as messed-up and in
need of grace as you are. Just let me be your servant. After all,
Jesus commanded us to serve one another. He didn't suggest it or
request it. He commanded it. And how can we refuse someone who
gave us so much?
May God bless you
during this Holy Season. Thanks for reading.
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