GRACE@WORK MAIL 16/09
> April 17th, 2009 Edition.
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> Commentary: Did Jesus wash between the toes?
>
> I confess. This was the first year I participated in a Maundy Thursday
> service. What is Maundy Thursday you ask? It is the Thursday before
> Easter and it commemorates the events that took place on that night two
> thousand years ago. This includes: Jesus washing the feet of His
> disciples, the institution of the Lord's Supper, Jesus praying in the Garden
> of Gethsemane, and His betrayal by Judas.
>
> I guess I was always put off by the term "Maundy" which sounded like
> some high church, bells and incense kind of thing. To my embarrassment
> I found out that Maundy comes from a Latin word that means "command"
> and it is a reference to Jesus' command to His disciples to love one
> another (John 13:34), a commandment He gave on the original Maundy
> Thursday.
>
> One of my pastoral colleagues had strongly suggested that we do a
> Maundy Thursday service. That provoked the research that led me to
> understand the meaning of Maundy Thursday, which led me to participate
> in my first Maundy Thursday service, and to my washing the feet of some
> of my church members.
>
> I think Christians are the only people who worship a God that washes
> dirty feet (John 13:1-17). Does Jesus washing the feet of His disciples
> blow your mind? If it doesn't it probably means that you have been in the
> church a long time and that this account has become part of the
> "theological white noise" of your faith. But just imagine how shocking the
> foot washing must have been to the disciples and to the earliest readers
> of the book of John. To appreciate the food washing incident we must
> understand the conditions in Jesus' time.
>
> [... the customary hospitality of the time ... presupposed that guests at
> dinner would have bathed before coming, but their feet, dusty from
> walking to the host's house would be washed by a servant before the
> meal. (Lamar Williamson Jr. Preaching the Gospel of John, Louisville, KY:
> Westminster John Knox Press, 2004,166)]
>
> In those days people wore open sandals and the roads would be shared
> between humans and animals. The "toe jam" of the day would have
> consisted of dead skin cells, dried dung, dust and dirt in a base of sweat.
> Washing the feet was a dirty job but somebody had to do it, usually the
> most junior servant in the house. It was unthinkable that any leader
> would stoop down to do this. I can just imagine the stunned silence in the
> room as Jesus went around the room washing His disciples' feet. The only
> one who spoke up was Peter (of course) and he spoke what must have
> been on everybody's mind, that it was just not right for Jesus to wash
> their feet.
>
> After the events of Good Friday and Easter, we now know that Jesus would
> do much more than wash dirty feet. He would die on the Cross for our sins
> and indeed if we do not allow Him to wash our feet/wash away our sins, we
> can be no part of Him (John 13:8-9). But there is more. Not only does
> Jesus wash our feet, he expects His disciples to wash each other's feet
> (John 13:14-17). As my good friend L.T. Jeyachandran of RZIM reminds us,
> if Jesus had said, "now that I have washed your feet, you can now wash
> my feet," the disciples would have been jostling to get in line to see who
> would get the honour of being the first to wash the master's feet, fighting
> for the honour of being the most humble servant. But Jesus does not ask
> for them to wash His feet. Instead He asks them to wash each other's feet.
>
> This must have been the second shock of the evening. Just imagine the
> disciples looking around the room, the truth sinking in that they would
> have to wash the feet of some people that they do not like. Imagine Simon
> the Zealot, an alumnus of anti government rebel forces, having to wash
> the feet of Matthew the tax collector, a one time hated collaborator with
> the occupying forces. There must have been many such awkward match
> ups as the disciples washed each other's feet. But Jesus is clear. If they
> were really His followers, they had to wash each others feet.
>
> Foot washing is visceral and concrete. It's one thing to intellectually love
> someone you don't like. It's quite another to actually touch that person and
> serve him or her. It is also humbling to allow someone you don't like, wash
> your feet. Washing each other's feet is therefore an exercise of grace, a
> recommitment to the Maundy Thursday command to love one another as
> Jesus has loved us (John 13:34). (And I guess if your love is genuine you
> would do a proper job and also wash in between the toes. I am sure Jesus
> did, even for Judas.)
>
> Of course the act of foot washing has lost much of its power in a day and
> age when we rarely wear open sandals, where we ride in cars, buses and
> trams, and have tarred roads. However, I have to come to see that even if
> it is a symbolic exercise, foot washing is worth doing especially when we
> are clear as to its implications. I was honoured to be allowed to wash the
> feet of some of my church members as part of the Maundy Thursday
> service. It was a powerful reminder to all, that in the church of Jesus the
> Footwasher, to be a leader is to be a servant. It felt good to be reminded.
> And yes I did try to wash in between the toes.
>
> I am not starting a campaign for all churches to commemorate Maundy
> Thursday, or for all churches to have feet washing ceremonies. Indeed,
> Maundy Thursday and foot washing can easily become meaningless
> symbols if we are not careful. But we are commanded to love one another,
> and we are told to love, not just in word, but also with concrete action
> (1John 3:18). So just how do you do "foot washing" in your church?
>
>
>
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