Lessons on Footwashing

    Today is Maundy Thursday, the first of the three days we call the Triduum. It is an important day in some ways the most important of the three days that we celebrate during holy week.

    There are so many very important events that take place on this particular day. Of course there is the last supper Jesus celebrated with his disciples. But that event is followed shortly afterwards by Jesus trip to the Garden of Gethsemane where he prayed in the garden that God might remove the cup of suffering from him.
     That prayer is followed by the betrayal of Jesus by one of his own disciples, Judas Iscariot,  and then his arrest by soldiers sent from the religious authorities of his day.
     In rapid succession we hear about Jesus being put on trial by the religious authorities, and we hear about the encounter Peter had in the courtyard of the high priest with a servant girl who believed that he was one of Jesus followers. It was there that Peter denied Jesus three times as Jesus had predicted.
     Finally, we hear the confrontation between the high priest and Jesus leading to Jesus' condemnation by the Sanhedrin.
     As we gather here today, however, the Gospel lesson focuses us on the new commandment that Jesus gave to his disciples and the dramatic act he performed by washing his disciples’ feet.
     The water Jesus in that footwashing experience is another one of the “Water Marks” God has given to us to teach us what it means to be faithful followers of Jesus and servants of God.
     In some ways, however, it is washing the feet of others that is most difficult for contemporary Christians to deal with. The problem is not with the story itself, of course, but rather when it is when we try to reenact the washing of feet within the context of a worship service like today. Like Peter in the Gospel lesson itself, we find it very difficult to take off our shoes and socks and submit ourselves to that kind of ceremony.
     What was Peter's problem? It was not that he didn't have dirty feet, but that he didn't really understand what Jesus was trying to accomplish by doing that particular act, and, in fairness to Peter, we must point out that was only after Jesus washed the disciples’ feet that he explained to them what it was really all about.
     John tells us that after Jesus had washed their feet and put on his robe and 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, 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 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."
     Jesus went on to explain to his disciples, " I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I have 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 should you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
     Doesn't it seem ironic that Christians should have difficulty with the reenactment of the ceremony that Jesus himself performed on the night of his betrayal and arrest on the night before his crucifixion? We don’t have trouble with the other part of the Last Supper account, the sharing of the bread and the cup. This was the last opportunity our Lord and teacher had to teach a lesson to his disciples knowing that he would not be able to teach them any longer after this night. Don’t you think we should take it more seriously?
     There are three basic lessons Jesus wanted to get across to his disciples and to us as the ones would follow after them in future generations. Each of these lessons is about something we need to learn if we are going to be faithful followers of Jesus and servants of God.
     The first lesson is this. We need to learn how to be humble and how to receive what God wants to give us. That is a very difficult thing for us to understand. We have no trouble accepting the teaching of Scripture that it is more blessed to give than to receive, that is, of course, when are feeling generous toward others. We are proud people, and it is hard for us to actually receive from others, even from God.
     That Jesus is trying to get across, however. It is important for us to be able to receive before we can really understand the value of giving to others. As Jesus says, servants are not greater than their masters. In order to be a faithful servant, we must be able to humble ourselves and receive from others what they have to offer. When we are serving others we are vulnerable, and we are not in control. When we are able to receive from others, then we can understand better what it is like to be the recipient of the grace we want to bestow on others.  A true sense of humility enables us to give freely to others without having to impose our will on others.
     The second lesson Jesus is trying to get across to us in this example of washing his disciples' feet is that it is important for us to actually serve others. We become true servants by serving. It’s as simple as that. They are the ones who need to be in control, not we.
     By definition, serving others requires us to be open and willing to adapt to the needs of the person or persons we are trying to serve, but sometimes we are hesitant or reluctant to do so if their needs are not the kind of needs we are interested in serving.
     We have to learn to think from the perspective of the one who is being served.  I'm reminded of the cartoon of the little old lady standing on the street corner with a cane lifted up saying," If another Boy Scout tries to force me to cross the street, I'm going to bang him with this stick."
     Sometimes we say we are willing to serve others, but instead we try to determine the terms and conditions of that service. What Jesus is saying to us is simply this, if you're willing to serve then simply serve. Don't be condescending towards those you are trying to serve.
      Finally, Jesus is teaching us that the true service must come out our willingness to express our love for God by showing love to others. He says to his disciples, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." Because God loves us, we love others. That’s what it is all about.
     Can you see what Jesus is trying to do here? He is trying to build a community that is founded upon self-giving love. He's not offering us a bunch of rules and regulations to obey. He's not supplying us with detailed job descriptions. Just the opposite, Jesus is pointing us to take an active part in creating an open future built upon loving relationships between those whom he has called together to be a sign of God's new creation in the world.
     Jesus is showing us that we need to make a transition from being followers to being leaders who serve under his guidance in the power of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the kingdom of God. That night he knew that his life among them was coming to an end in just a few hours, but he also knew that his life would continue in them and through them for generations to come. By laying down his life for us on the cross, he was also lifting us up so that we might bear that cross ourselves and follow in the path that he has shown us.
     So, if we want to be faithful to our Lord, we need to do what he tells us to do. We are humble servants, set apart by God’s grace to show his love in real time among the people to whom he sends us. When we are willing to do that, then his mission among us has come to its fulfillment.