Washing Feet
John 13:1-17, 34-35[1]
We have a strange and interesting relationship with the word
“love.” We can love our families, our friends, our children and our
grandchildren. But we can also “love” a movie, or a book, or a favorite outfit.
We can love that one special person in our lives, but we can also love sausage,
or chocolate, or cherry pie. We can love God, while at the same time we can
love sports. I find the many ways we use the word “love” rather ironic and
somewhat comical, to be quite honest with you. At times, it seems like love
means everything to us, and at times we so overuse the word it can seem like
love means nothing to us.
In our gospel lesson, Jesus told the Apostles that the defining
mark of their life as his disciples was to be their love for one another. Because
of our widely varied use of the word, I’m not sure we have a clear idea of what
that love really entails. Our definitions of love often fall far short of the
kind of love Jesus had in mind. He told
them, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (Jn.
13:34). When he said that, I believe he
had in mind a very specific kind of love. In fact, he demonstrated that love
for them earlier when he washed their feet. It was a kind of love that was so
different from what they expected that Peter insisted, “You will never wash my
feet” (Jn. 13:8).
I think we can all appreciate the difficultly Peter must have
had with the idea of Jesus washing his feet.
In the first place, it is a very personal thing to have someone wash
your feet, especially for those of us who don’t make a habit of getting
pedicures on a regular basis! But more to the point, in that time and place,
washing feet was a task that you normally did for yourself, or one that a slave
did for you. It certainly was not something you would expect from your teacher,
your mentor, and the one you believed to be the Messiah—God’s agent of
redemption for the world! That kind of
thing went way beyond the bounds of what Jesus’ disciples would have considered
an appropriate expression of love.
And yet there Jesus was, washing their feet, doing for them all
what none of them would even consider doing for each other. In fact, when Peter objected, Jesus said,
“Unless I wash you, you have no share with me” (Jn. 13:8). Peter misunderstood this as well. It would seem that what Jesus was trying to
impress on him and on the rest of the disciples was that this quality of humble,
self-sacrificing love is what defines God’s very character. It was the quality
of love that God shared with Jesus. It was the quality of love that Jesus had shared
with his disciples. And it was the quality of love that Jesus commanded them to
share with one another.
Even taking all this into consideration, we might be able to get
over the menial nature of washing someone’s feet—or the modern-day equivalent—as
an example of the kind of love we’re to share with one another. But in order to
see the true nature of the love that Jesus expected us to practice, we have to
remember the situation. He had just
washed the feet of 12 men, one of whom was about to betray him. Another of
them, Peter, would publicly deny even knowing Jesus. And the rest of them, with
one possible exception, would abandon him and run for their lives when the
crucial moment came. It would seem that Jesus knew all of this ahead of time,
and yet he still demonstrated his love for each and every one of them by the incredibly
humble act of washing their feet.
This is the kind of love that Jesus said would be the defining
mark of those who claimed to follow him.
It is not just a warm, fuzzy feeling for someone. The love Jesus
commanded us to practice goes far beyond that. This kind of love is defined by
the willingness to humble ourselves to do for one another what we would not
normally do. This kind of love entails the decision to give ourselves away for
the sake of one another. This kind of
love involves a commitment that our lives are to be lived not just for
ourselves, but for the benefit of those around us. It is a love that is incredibly difficult and
demands of us the best we have to offer.
On this night when we commemorate Jesus’ last supper with his
disciples, many congregations across the world choose to honor Jesus’ memory by
holding a foot-washing ceremony. Now I must confess that I’ve never been a part
of such a ceremony. And I will also admit that when I’ve had my feet washed by
another person, I didn’t always feel entirely comfortable with it. I would
imagine that most of us would balk at the idea of holding a “foot-washing”
ceremony on Maundy Thursday. But that makes me wonder about how well we have
taken Jesus’ command to heart. If we’re not willing to do something as simple
as washing each other’s feet, I have to wonder how serious we are about
following Jesus’ example of humble, sacrificial love.
Of course, I don’t know that I would say that it is the act of
washing feet that is the primary issue here. I think it has more to do with our
hearts. The kind of love that Jesus modeled on that night so long ago
represents a radical departure from the ways we feel comfortable expressing
“love.” Perhaps that’s where the rubber meets the road on this issue. If our
hearts are in the right place, we will gladly show love for one another, no
matter what it takes.
The love that Jesus modeled for us is not easy to practice in
the actual push-and-shove of life. It is a love that is willing to do whatever
it takes to meet the needs of one another.
It is a love that leads us to make sacrifices for one another, even when
it is unconventional, or inconvenient, or even uncomfortable. It is a love that
calls us to humble ourselves and serve one another, even if that means washing
each other’s feet.
[1] ©2018
Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 3/29/2018 at Hickman
Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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