Church of the Incarnation

"Jesus 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."1

Jesus has spent three years with these men, loving them and teaching them how to love one another. And he has shared the Passover meal with them, remembering all God has done to love them throughout history. It's almost time for Jesus' final act of love toward his disciples. It's almost time for him to lay down his own life for them. All the little acts of kindness he's done for them have pointed the way to this sacrifice. But he's worried they'll miss it.

So he looks around the upper room, searching for a way to act out for them that his love is humble, sacrificial, willing to endure pain and suffering and even death for the good of the beloved. Jesus, their lord, their rabbi, their teacher, the one they've followed and served for three years, gets up from the table and removes his outer robe, the robe he was wearing when he called each of them to follow him, the robe he was wearing as their rabbi when he sat on the mountain and taught the crowds, the robe he was wearing when he walked across the water and calmed the storm, the robe whose hem the woman touched and her hemorrhaging stopped. Jesus takes off his robe and takes on the role of the lowest servant, tying a towel around his waist. And pouring water into a basin, he kneels at the feet of the first disciple.

The disciple squirms uneasily, hiding his filthy feet under his garment. But Jesus reaches out his hands, the hands that bless and heal, and he tenderly picks up the disciple's foot and places it in the basin of cool water and begins to wash it. Jesus curls in to his work as he gently caresses the tired foot. He rinses away the dirt of the day's travels, the dung and debris from the rough roads. The filth covers his hands, but Jesus doesn't shy away. His loving fingers find the rough patches, the calluses and corns, and he gently scrubs away the dirt that lingers there. He sees the blisters worn raw by ill-fitting and worn-out sandals. Jesus cools them with water and carefully rinses them clean. He dirties himself with their hurts, their wounds, their toil. And he commands them to do likewise for one another.

And now we have the opportunity to heed Jesus' command and come forward for the footwashing. We each have the chance to set aside whatever role we play in our work places, our homes, or even here at church and to sit in this chair and be served. We'll allow someone to take our feet in their hands, touching our roughness, our ugliness, our pain, rinsing them with clean water and patting them dry. Then we'll kneel at the feet of a friend and dirty our hands with the soil of their day, taking their hurts in our hands and loving them away. It won't be easy. It'll be uncomfortable to allow another to touch the part that we keep hidden away, the part we don't want others to have to touch. And it'll be uncomfortable to take another's foot and hold it close. But being uncomfortable doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. Because Jesus told us to love one another in ways that make us uncomfortable. And because we need to learn to open ourselves to letting Jesus and others love us in that way.

Peter was appalled when Jesus tried to touch his feet, saying, "Lord, you will never wash my feet." But Jesus issued him a challenge. He said "you can't be in relationship with me unless you let me serve you in this way." To be in relationship with Christ we have to let him see us, all of us - even the parts of us we're embarassed by, the parts that don't look perfect or smell perfect. Because we can't hide things from Jesus.

So I invite you to come forward now as the disciples did that night so many years ago. You'll begin by sitting in the chair and letting the person before you wash your feet. It'll be uncomfortable. But it's a way to open yourself up, to let Christ serve you and fill you. Once you've been washed, you'll take your place in front of the chair to serve someone else. They'll place their feet in the tub and you'll pour a little of the warm water over their feet. You may want to take their feet in your hands, to wipe them and swish water over them. When you're finished, gently lift their feet out of the water and dry them with the towel. Altar Guild will be on hand to empty the tub and fill the pitcher as needed.

Having our feet washed is uncomfortable, but we can't serve others until we can humble ourselves and first let Christ serve us.

Amen.

References:

1. John 13:1, 4-5