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The foot washing of which we just read was a common custom
in Jesus' day. The roads of Palestine were dirt. In dry
weather, they were inches deep in dust and in wet, they were
liquid mud. The shoes ordinary people wore were sandals, which
gave little protection against the dust or the mud. For that
reason there were always great waterpots at the door of a house;
and a servant was there with a pitcher and a towel to wash the
soiled feet of the guests as they came in. Jesus' little company
of friends had no servants. The duties which servants would
carry out in wealthier circles must have been shared among each
other.(1) But not tonight.
As you Bible scholars are aware, John's gospel is only one
account of the Last Supper. We find parallel descriptions in the
other gospels, each of them recalling the familiar words we so
often associate with Maundy Thursday - "This is my body...This is
my blood." In Luke's rendering we even find that an argument had
sprung up among them as to who would be regarded as "the
greatest."(2) That may well have resulted in ruffled feathers, and
such sore feelings that they had trooped into the upper room like
a set of sulky schoolboys - not one among them willing to see the
pitcher and basin and towel set there for their use, despite the
fact that they normally would have taken turns with the task and
thought nothing about it. Tonight all of them sat stubbornly in
their places and would have none of the menial duty.(3) Jesus'
response was one of thinly veiled disgust at the behavior. No
doubt, the foot washing exercise was a visible parable of kingdom
expectations.
It would be lovely to say that this is a lesson the church
has taken to its heart. But we know better. As one commentator
has it,
During World War II, England needed to increase its
production of coal. Winston Churchill called together labor
leaders to enlist their support. At the end of his presentation
he asked them to picture in their minds a parade which he knew
would be held in Piccadilly Circus after the war. "First," he
said, "would come the sailors who had kept the vital sea lanes
open. Then would come the soldiers who had come home from
Dunkirk and then gone on to defeat Rommel in Africa. Then would
come the pilots who had driven the Luftwaffe from the sky. "Last
of all," he said, "would come a long line of sweat-stained,
soot-streaked men in miner's caps. Someone would cry from the
crowd, 'And where were you during the critical days of our
struggle?' And from ten thousand throats would come the answer,
"We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.'"(5)
Not all the work that needs doing in this world is glorious
or glamourous. But it is often the people with their "faces to
the coal" - or, in the case of our lesson, "faces to the feet" -
who get the job done.
An admirer once asked the late, great orchestra conductor
Leonard Bernstein what was the most difficult instrument to play.
He responded with quick wit: "Second fiddle. I can get plenty of
first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as
much enthusiasm or second french horn or second flute, now that's
a problem. And yet if no one plays second, we have no harmony."(6)
You recall how our lesson on foot washing ends. After Jesus
finishes, he says, "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."
If it will be any encouragement to you, you should know that
offering willing service is healthy for you...not only
spiritually but physically too. A headline in American Health
Magazine reads: 'New research shows that doing good may be good
for your heart, your immune system and your over-all vitality.'
According to this magazine, the University of Michigan's Research
Center found that doing regular volunteer work more than
any other activity dramatically increased life expectancy and
probably vitality. Men who do no volunteer work were two and
one-half times as likely to die during the study as men who
volunteered at least once a week. Scientists are also finding
that doing good may be good for your immune system as well as
your nervous system...In giving ourselves away, we may be saving
ourselves.(7) Amen!
Maundy Thursday. "This is my body. This is my blood."
Foot washing. Slave work. OUR work. Our Christian calling.
And as Jesus said, "If you know these things, you are blessed if
you do them."
Let us pray.
O God, we confess to being reluctant servants. We like the
cushy jobs, the positions of power and prestige, as much as
anyone. Help us to not insist on them though, and to be willing
to offer whatever service we might. In the name of Jesus. Amen!
1. William Barclay, The Gospel of John, Vol. 2, Daily Study Bible Series, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975), p. 138-139 2. Luke 22:24 3. The Interpreter's Bible, vol. VIII, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1954), p. 680 4. Barclay., p. 139-140 5. Don McCullough in Waking from the American Dream quoted in Bible Illustrator for Windows, (Hiawatha, IO: Parsons Technology, 1994) 6. Bible Illustrator for Windows 7. Eugene C. Dorsey, "Vital Speeches" : Volume LIV, no. 19, July 15, 1988
So often, even in churches, trouble arises because
someone does not get his place. So often even
ecclesiastical dignitaries are offended because they
did not receive the precedence to which their office
entitled them. Here is the lesson that there is only
one kind of greatness, the greatness of service. The
world is full of people who are standing on their
dignity when they ought to be kneeling at the feet of
their brethren. In every sphere of life desire for
prominence and unwillingness to take a subordinate
place wreck the scheme of things. A player is one day
omitted from the team and refuses to play any more. An
aspiring politician is passed over for some office to
which he thought he had a right and refuses to accept
any subordinate office. A member of a choir is not
given a solo and will not sing anymore. In any society
it may happen that someone is given a quite
unintentional slight and either explodes in anger or
broods in sulkiness for days afterwards. When we are
tempted to think of our dignity, our prestige, our
rights, let us again see the picture of the Son of God,
girt with a towel, kneeling at his disciples' feet.(4)
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