Readings for today: Matthew 26:1-5, 14-35, Mark 14:1-2, 10-31, Luke 22:1-38, John 13
I remember one of the first times I washed another person’s feet. I was in seminary at Princeton. I was working as a prison chaplain at New Jersey State Prison. I was leading a Bible study on Thursday nights and we were studying the gospels. When we got to today’s readings about Jesus washing the disciple’s feet, I pulled out a bucket and suggested we do the same for each other. The reaction was overwhelming. Several men started to weep. Some resisted but eventually gave in. Some were ashamed of what their feet looked and smelled like. One man was so overcome with emotion that he got up and walked to the corner of the room. It was a powerful moment for us all. After we were finished, we spent some time talking about why foot-washing is so hard for us and what we learned by following the command of Jesus that night. Here are just a few of our takeaways…
Foot-washing is humbling. We don’t like being served. Being served places us in a passive position where we have little to no power. It makes us feel uncomfortable. Vulnerable. Exposed. We live in a culture where feet are largely covered up. We wear socks and shoes most of the time. Our feet are not considered the most beautiful or attractive parts of our bodies. They are sensitive to touch and heat and cold. The experience feels deeply intimate. Like something you would do with a close friend and we frankly don’t have a lot of close friends.
Foot-washing turns power dynamics on their head. Several of the men remarked on how deeply it touched them to have a white, upper middle class, highly educated, non-incarcerated pastor kneeling before them to wash the feet of incarcerated, largely poor, black, lower-educated men. I felt the same way when our roles reversed and the men served me. There was a sense in which foot-washing placed us all on the same level as people in desperate need of the grace Jesus offers in Himself.
All of these dynamics were in play when Jesus took the towel after supper and tied it around His waist. He was intentionally taking the place of the humblest servant. He was performing the service that none of the rest of the disciples would ever want to perform. No one wants to wash feet! Especially in ancient near east culture where feet were grimy and dirty and calloused and rough from daily activity. The reaction of Simon Peter is a common one. “Lord, you will never wash my feet!” We don’t want to be vulnerable. We don’t want to be exposed. We don’t want to be put in an uncomfortable position. But Jesus is relentless. He pursues us. He serves us in the deepest and most profound ways imaginable. And our spiritual condition doesn’t seem to matter much to Him. He washes the feet of those who betray Him. Those who deny Him. Those who do not understand Him. Those who resist Him. He simply, lovingly, graciously kneels before us right where we are to wash us clean. This is His heart for us.
Readings for tomorrow: John 14-17