josephholubsermons
Maundy Thursday
April 1, 2010
John 13:1-15
HE WASHED THEIR DUSTY FEET!
"Then he poured the water
into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them
with the towel with which he was girded." (John 13:5)
Jesus took a towel, and He washed their dusty feet!
In those days foot-washing was a
rather ordinary act of hospitality. It
was an action that carried with it the affirming message of a
hospitable welcome. But it was an
act that was meant to be performed,
not by the master of
the house, but rather the servant or more subservient members of the
house. It was a menial act to be
performed by one who was accustomed to being on bended knees; by one who
would be expected to do such a lowly and humbling thing.
Jesus took a towel, and He washed their dusty feet!
While their feet were
being soothed and refreshed by Jesus from a day's weary and heated
journey, what turmoil must have been going on in the minds and hearts of
those proud disciples - seeing their master and teacher kneeling before
them, taking their feet, each in turn, into his hands and serving them
as a household servant?
I remember a foot-washing
service almost 30 years ago when I was an associate pastor in Denver.
The plan was that the senior pastor (Keith) and I would wash the feet of
several members of the church council. It was my job to hold the
basin, and Keith would do the foot-washing.
I remember how incredibly
nervous and self-conscious those council members were to have
their pastors wash their feet. It came time for the ritual and, of
course, their feet were already sparkling clean.
The council president (Don) had on a
new pair of shoes and
brand new socks.
Keith took off the shoes and
socks of the council president. As
I lowered the basin beneath his feet a
huge glob of
new
sock lint fell off from under his toes into the basin of water.
Only those of us up front saw it.
Trying to relax the participants, Keith whispered, just loud enough for
only the few of us up front to hear, "Oh Don, that's really tacky!"
I cannot adequately describe what
happened next. All I can say is
have you ever experienced that the harder you try
not to laugh the worse
it is? What had started as
a reverent ritual, momentarily teetered as we tried with all
our might to stuff our laughter. However,
our laughter only covered up how uncomfortable and embarrassed we all
were at doing this in the first place.
"Someone else should be
doing this!" those disciples must have
silently protested except for Peter who could not stay silent!
Verbalizing what everyone was
thinking, Peter protested openly!
As we gaze down and see
Jesus there bent low (perhaps at our feet), can we even recognize that
such a simple, humble, gentle, beautiful act reveals the very
heart of God as manifested in a human life?
He then said, "I have
set you an example, that you
should also do as I have done to you."
Can
we accept this amazing gesture from Jesus?
That's the
question and challenge for this Maundy Thursday. "Maundy",
from the Latin "mandatum” meaning mandate,
this night we commemorate that he
"mandated" his disciples to do likewise!
Maundy-foot-washing Thursday!
Can we accept this gesture of
affirming servitude
directed towards us personally - and the challenge that comes with it to
embody that same expression of servant love in our lives; in our
community; with one another?
How is it for us? Are we a
congregation that is willing to serve one another in a such a humble
manner?
But how hard is it?
The human ego can be one of the
most fragile of all things. To
make myself vulnerable to
another in such a way could be the hardest thing I ever could be
asked to do. Why?
Because
fragile
egos and low self-esteem
are the biggest road-blocks to the expression of love in this world.
"…do as I have done to you,"
said Jesus to his disciples – and to us!
This foot-washing gesture of humility is
indicative of the
thrust and focus of
Jesus’ entire life. He had been washing the feet of others his entire
ministry; that is touching
people
with affirming love at their most vulnerable places;
lifting up those that power, culture and religion had marginalized
and put down.
This foot-washing scenario
only appears in John’s gospel, so we must see it and understand
it first in the
context of John’s gospel.
In the chapter immediately preceding this Jesus said,
“…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains just
a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit… whoever serves me
must follow me…” (12:24,26)
That is both a reference to
Jesus’ death and an
invitation into his way of life.
John’s faith community had come
to understand Jesus’ death and resurrection as a
way of life – a way
of living – a way of
following – a way of
humility – the way of
the cross.
We have it mostly wrong
about the humility thing.
Somewhere the idea was advanced that humility has to do with self-disparagement;
with putting one’s self down; with minimizing one’s self.
But that is not true humility, not even close – that is called
low self-esteem.
Humility has to do with affirming the other and lifting the other
up. To do that, to affirm
another, one has to be very secure in who one is –
deeply rooted and firmly anchored
in a source of healthy well-being.
For me, that
comprehensively describes Jesus.
John’s gospel portrays Jesus as
one who was deeply anchored
and centered in his relationship with God, and as a result was
perhaps the most healthy person who's ever lived.
Everything he did emanated from his
centeredness in God as the
source of his life and being.
Jesus was a human being, centered in God, who was
so whole, so free and so loving
that he transcended the limits of love that
we set around ourselves every
day. From his centeredness in God, he calls and beckons
us into his kind of
life which surpasses the limits and boundaries of love that we draw
around ourselves.
Jesus took a towel and He washed their dusty feet!
And he said,
“I have set you an example, that
you also should do as I have done to you.”
To “wash the feet” of:
family, friends and neighbors;
the wounded; the lonely; the victims of injustice; the hungry; the
forgotten; the oppressed; our rivals; even the feet of those whose hands
we may not shake – is to love with the same love that
burst forth from the life of
Jesus – into whose life and love we are invited to follow and
“to live and move and have our
being.”
Amen.