This is the message given in the Sunday night service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church. The Bible verses used are John 13:1-17.
Have you ever washed someone’s feet?
Well, if you have kids, you obviously washed their feet
when they were little. But that’s not what I’m talking about. Have you
ever washed someone’s feet? Or, have you ever had someone wash your feet?
Back in Jesus’ time, it was not all that uncommon.
But it was not something people liked doing very much. I mean, think
about what feet were like at that time. If you were lucky, and wealthy,
you had a pair of sandals to wear. If not, well, you went barefoot.
And there was no such things as a paved road back then. You walked on the
dirt. If it rained, you walked in the mud. You probably stepped on rocks
and thorns and all sorts of other things. And people raised animals, so
there were other things to step in, too.
So feet were, by and large, filthy. And they were
ugly. They were calloused. They were not in good shape at
all. Now think about having to wash those, filthy, ugly, calloused feet.
It was not a pleasant job at all. If you were an
ordinary person, of course, you had to wash your own feet. But wealthy
people, who had servants, could have someone wash their feet for them.
And because it was a lousy job, it would be the job of the lowest servant on
the ladder. The new guy, or the young person with no seniority, someone
like that. They were the one who would get the job of washing feet,
because it was a terrible job that no one wanted to do.
Our Bible reading for tonight takes place on the night of
Jesus’ betrayal. We’re told there’s a meal in progress. It was
known as the Passover meal at the time. Today, Christians refer to it as
the Last Supper. Judas knows he’s going to betray Jesus. Jesus
knows it, too.
All of a sudden, Jesus gets up. As the story is
related to us, he does not say a word. He just gets up, and he takes off
his outer clothing. He wraps a towel around his waist. He pours
water into a basin. And he starts washing the disciples’ feet, drying
them with the towel.
Again, as the story comes to us, no one says a word.
No one asks Jesus what he’s doing, and Jesus does not explain it. The
disciples just sit there, silently, as Jesus goes among them. First one,
then another, then another, washing their feet. No sound but the
splashing of the water.
Then he comes to Simon
Peter. And if there was one person who was going to say something, that’s
who it would be. And he does. Simon Peter says, “Lord, are you going
to wash my feet?”
We’re not specifically told this, but I have to think Simon
Peter was appalled. The Messiah, the Lord, the Savior, the divine Son of
God, is going to wash his feet? That’s not right. That’s not what
the divine Son of God does. That’s what the lowest servant does.
Simon Peter cannot believe this is happening. He refuses to allow it to
happen.
But then, Jesus says it’s something that’s necessary.
And to Simon Peter’s credit, he not only allows it, he wants more. He
still does not understand it, but if it’s something that has to happen for him
to stay with Jesus, then he wants as much of it as possible.
Jesus finishes with Simon Peter. He goes on to the
rest of the disciples, and again, as far as we know, no one is saying
anything. Even Thomas, who can usually be counted on to ask about stuff
like this, does not say anything. Jesus gets through all the disciples,
he puts his clothes back on, and he comes back and sits down. And then he
explains it. He says:
Do you understand what I have
done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that
is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that
you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no
servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who
sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if
you do them.
Jesus could say so much in so few words
sometimes. He’s telling them, look, you acknowledge that I am greater
than you. And yet, being greater than you, I have done this job which
only the lowest of the low usually do. So that tells you that you should never
think that any job is beneath you. And you should especially never think
that there’s nothing you could do for someone else that’s beneath you.
When you can help someone, help them. Period.
That’s what Jesus says to us, too.
When we can help someone, we should. Period.
And the thing about Jesus is, when he says
to do something, and when he models that behavior himself, there are no
half-way measures. Jesus is all in. Think about what he did
here. He did not wait for the disciples to ask for someone to wash their
feet. He just saw the need and did it. He did not ask the disciples
if they’d like him to wash their feet. He just saw the need and did
it. In Simon Peter’s case, he did it in spite of his protests. Jesus
saw that this lousy, disgusting, menial task needed to be done, and he did
it. Period.
And here’s another thing about that.
All twelve disciples are there with Jesus when he does this. In other
words, Judas is still there with Jesus when he does this. Judas, who is
going to betray Jesus. Judas, whose actions are going to lead to Jesus
being arrest, and beaten, and tortured, and killed. Judas is there with
all the disciples. And Jesus, knowing all that Judas is going to do,
washes Judas’ feet.
What do you supposed Judas felt? Did
he have any second thoughts? Did he feel any shame or remorse? Or
did he think, well, I must be going to get away with it? After all, if
Jesus knew what I was going to do, he surely would not wash my feet,
right?
That’s what I mean when I say Jesus was
all in on this. Jesus calls us to extreme service, because extreme
service comes from extreme love. Jesus told us to love everyone. No
exceptions. We are to love even our enemies. And Jesus demonstrated
that in about as unforgettable a way as possible, washing the feet of Judas,
the man who was about to betray him. And Jesus told the disciples, and he
tells us, to do the same.
That’s a pretty high standard. One
of the hardest things Jesus tells us to do is love our enemies. But now,
it seems like Jesus is going even beyond that. We are to serve our
enemies. We are to do the smallest, lowest, most menial tasks for our
enemies.
And if I’m honest about it, I’m really a
little uncomfortable preaching about this. Because I fall far, far short
of this standard. I’m not even remotely close to it. I can say this
should be our goal, and it should be. But is it? Is it for
me? Because if it’s a goal, then we need to do something about achieving
it. We need to make some sort of a plan for how we’re going to meet that
standard. And quite frankly, as I stand before you tonight I have not
done anything about achieving it. I don’t have any plan at all. And
I have not even taken the first step toward making one.
So, if you’re like me, what do we
do? Do we just let it drop? Do we just say, well, that’s a nice
story, and yeah, that’s something we should do, and then just go home and
forget about it? That’s what we’re tempted to do. It’s what I’m
tempted to do. But we know that’s not what Jesus wants us to do.
It seems to me that, before we can even
make a plan that’s meaningful, we need to have the desire to actually do
this. Because the best plan will fail if we don’t have a desire to carry
it out. So then the question becomes, where can we get that desire?
It would be great if our love of God and our belief in Jesus was enough to give
it to us. And obviously, it should be. But, for some of us it’s
not. And so, the only way I can see to get that desire is through the
power of the Holy Spirit.
Now, it’s easy to use that as an excuse,
too. We say, well, I just have to wait until the Holy Spirit
strikes. And so we do nothing. That’s not the way to do this.
God’s Holy Spirit does not force His way into our hearts. We need to
invite Him in. The Holy Spirit may encourage us to do that. The
Holy Spirit may knock on the door of our hearts, asking to come in. But
the Holy Spirit does not force His way in. We need to open that door.
So, it’s up to you. And it’s up to
me. Are we going to take Jesus’ example seriously? Are we going to
be willing to do the smallest, most menial tasks? And are we willing to
do them even for our enemies?
If so, invite the Holy Spirit in.
Ask the Holy Spirit to give you chances to serve. But be ready.
Because my experience is that, when we ask the Holy Spirit to give us chances
to serve, the Holy Spirit answers pretty quickly. And often that answer
comes in ways we never expected.
Jesus showed us what to do. It’s up
to us to allow God’s Holy Spirit to help us follow His example.
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