Barefoot in the Dark

Wednesday in Holy Week

John 13:1-5, 12-15 (NRSV)       Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

 

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had 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, for 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 also should do as I have done to you.

In Jesus’ day, feet were more visible than they are today. People did not wrap their feet in socks and shoes. If they wore anything, they wore sandals. Yet, most authorities say that the majority of people walked bare-footed.

This meant that peoples’ feet were always dirty. And as any of you who live on farms know, we leave our barn boots on the back porch for a reason. No wonder the polite thing to do was to have one of the servants wash the feet of visitors to the house—after all you never know where those feet have been.

It would have been proper for one of the disciples to have washed Jesus’ feet, but here we see the order of the world being turned upside down. Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and tells us that we should do the same.

There are going to be some dirty, stinky jobs that are going to need to be done for the health and welfare of God’s community. So let’s step up and be prepared to work. We can’t look for someone else to do the job for us. In his paper on Christian Liberty, Luther says, “We are to be Lord of all, servant to none, and servant to all and Lord of none.”

We can never lose sight of the fact that Jesus is our Lord, and we know this because he loved all he met, even you and me.

Prayer

Thank you for your love and concern, Lord. Thank you for caring for us enough to even wash the stink from our feet. May we always know the fresh-smelling cleanness of life in your presence. Amen