John 13:1-17, 31b-35
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Tonight, we see Jesus once again acting against stereotype. We talked last Sunday about how Jesus is a different kind of King. Instead of riding into Jerusalem on a powerful horse, he comes in on a humble donkey, transportation for the poor. And when they arrive at the room for a simple supper, he again acted in an unexpected way.
In the normal order of things, Kings don’t wait on people. So, when Jesus takes off his outer garments and makes things ready to wash the feet of his disciples, they were obviously shocked. Peter finds this all hard to comprehend.
Peter: Lord, you’re not going to wash my feet…
Jesus: Peter, I have to wash your feet.
Peter: well, then, wash my head and my hands also
Jesus: Just your feet, Peter… pay attention, this is not just about being clean.
It was common practice for guests to have their feet washed up entry into a person’s home. Most travelers wore sandals and the roads were dusty and dirty. Cleaning feet was a way of keeping the home clean, but also an act of hospitality for the traveler, to make their visit more comfortable. But usually it was the servants who performed this duty, not the host himself. And so, for Jesus to put himself into that lesser role, it would have been an extremely dramatic and uncomfortable thing for everyone to witness.
Jesus often tried to teach the disciples humility. Sometimes they got the message but often forgot to consider it all in the big picture. Washing their feet was an ultimate act of service. And afterward, he commanded them to continue the practice of serving one another, and not to wait for someone else to service them.
We don’t often wash one another’s feet these days… in fact, this Maundy Thursday service is often the only time that this part of the Jesus story is reenacted. Touching another person’s feet feels very intimate. I have often felt very vulnerable when someone else touches my feet.
Jesus’ actions here teach us some important lessons that should inform the way we relate to other people and live out our faith every day.
1st lesson – Hospitality is an important manifestation of our faith. Jesus calls us to welcome people into our lives, and in addition, we are called to meet the needs that they have. One of the things that I love about having German friends is the way that hospitality is lived out in many routine encounters.
When we get together with our German neighbors or friends from our village band, there are certain rituals that are always followed. First, you shake hands or hug every person who enters the group. You great them with a phrase like “Grüß dich!” Or “Grüß Gott!” And then usually a question, “Wie ghets?” “How’s it going?” “Es ghets mir gut” or “Gut, danke” “I’m doing fine.” And then someone will offer you something to drink… which you are not supposed to turn down. And when you leave, you don’t just say goodbye to the host and guest of honor, but to everyone you have had conversation with in this encounter. “Danke für die Einladung – thank you for the invitation” and “Bis bald! – see you soon.”
When we first encountered these rituals, it felt very personal… very intimate… and very foreign. But they have taught me a lot about what hospitality is all about. And what a glad burden it is to be in relationship with other people.
2nd lesson – This encounter teaches is that no job of service is too lowly for any of us. We applaud people like Mother Theresa who serve in the worst slum of India and think of that as a special calling reserved only for those who are the holiest. But God often calls us to ministry that we feel is beneath us.
At one church we attended, I felt guilted into helping with the homeless shelter the church hosted every other month. In the end, the small acts of service that I performed, like helping people make up their beds, or cleaning the showers, or preparing breakfast, were incidental to the way I heard people talk about their lives and struggles and how this ministry in our community was giving them a second or third or fourth chance at life. Did I need a seminary education to do this job? No. But it did remind me that ministry isn’t just about teaching theology or biblical study. Ministry is also about meeting people’s needs so that they are ready to tackle discipleship in whatever ways they can.
3rd lesson - By ritualizing this story and making it a part of our worship today, we are living out the biblical story. There’s this thing called muscle memory. It is our bodies’ way of helping us to do things without having to think too much about them. It’s how we can ride a bike or drive a stick shift, even if we haven’t done it in years. It’s how we get to the bathroom in the middle of the night without having to turn on the light.
Role-playing is an important part of what worship is all about. We celebrate the Eucharist and remember that Christ is with us in the bread and wine. We share a common meal where everyone sits in equal seats. We leave the table to live and serve in the world, just as Jesus told us to do.
Washing feet helps to remember that we, too, are called to be a different kind of people, ones who gladly receive and serve, as Christ has called us to do.
Washing other people’s feet was the most astonishing act of service that Jesus ever did. He presided over a meal that unites us all at the same table… one bread, one body, one Lord… He was arrested, tried, beaten, stripped and killed as his ultimate acts of service to all of humankind. And because we know the rest of the story, even as we approach the darkness of Good Friday or Karfreitag (Grief Friday in German), we see the resurrection on the horizon and know that Jesus’ ministry was not stopped by his death.
Some people do need to have their feet washed – the elderly, the sick and others who cannot do this for themselves. But the real lesson here is that we should all be humble enough to do for others, serving out of love and devotion to God.
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love,
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.
show us how to serve
the neighbors we have from you.
Amen.
While we go about the ritual of foot or hand washing, please remember that this is a symbolic act of devotion. We will only wash and dry one hand or foot, and no one is required to participate. After your foot or hand has been washed, please follow through by washing the hand or foot of the person who follows you. We have clean water in the bottles that you can pour as needed, and small towels for drying.
We will sing the hymn through as many times as necessary to make it through all of the people participating.
