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The
Gospel of John gives the only account of the Lord’s Supper
during which Jesus takes off his robe, wraps a towel around
his waist, and washes his disciples’ feet. Afterwards, Jesus
tells his disciples that they ought to wash one another’s
feet.
I
do not recall any accounts of the disciples washing each
other’s feet later in the Bible. Nor do I imagine that there
were many feet-washing ceremonies. Could you imagine the
church’s attendance on feet-washing Sundays or the annual
World Feet Washing Day? It definitely did not come close to
becoming a sacrament of the church.
The
act of feet washing, as it would be today if it were a regular
practice, was the job of a servant. In Korea, and in some
Korean homes in America today, shoes are not worn in the
house. You may
know that various Asian cultures follow this practice. The
main reason is to keep the floors clean. Carpet and vacuum
cleaners were not used or easily available in the past. So in
order to keep the floors as clean as possible and easier to
maintain, shoes were left outside or placed in a designated
area inside the house.
Many
of the youth and those of you who have been to the Pleasant
Street parsonage know that Jamie and I follow the practice of
not wearing shoes in the house, except for large gatherings
since we have not found a good place and system to store that
many shoes. But it definitely helps with keeping the carpet
looking clean.
In
Jesus’ time, it was because of ceremonial practices and the
amount of dust and dirt on one’s feet from traveling on
dusty and unpaved roads that foot washing was necessary. In
some cases, there were servants to wash their feet. There are
a few accounts in the Old Testament where hosts would provide
water for travelers to give to their animals and to wash their
feet. In the New Testament, two accounts of feet washing are
recorded.
One
is in Luke 7, where a woman who regretted her sinful life wet
Jesus’ feet with her tears, dried them with her hair and,
after kissing them, poured perfume on them. The very things
that the woman did were the acts that the host was to provide,
but did not. Jesus not only pointed out his host’s lack of
good manners, but he also explained to his host that what she
did signified that the one who is forgiven much will love
much. It is also true to say that the one who has been
forgiven much will also be able to forgive much. We will get
to that point in a short while.
The
other account of washing feet was in the scripture reading for
this sermon. Jesus knew what he was doing when he washed his
disciples’ feet. He took on the role of a servant. Jesus
could have poured the water and brought it to his disciples
for them to wash their own feet. But to wash and dry his
disciples’ feet was an incredibly humble act that did not
fit, according to the disciples, his job description.
Simon
Peter was the boldest of the disciples who said to Jesus,
“You will never wash my feet.”
And when Jesus told him that he could not call himself
a disciple if he refused, Peter gave a defiant and sarcastic
remark about his head and hands needing washing, too. I do not
have much understanding to that reply. But as to why Peter did
not want to have Jesus wash his feet, I do.
Peter
witnessed firsthand Jesus controlling nature by calming sea
storms, healing the sick, feeding thousands with food barely
enough for a dozen, and even raising the dead. Peter also
believed that Jesus was the one who was to come and rule the
earth as the king of Jerusalem and the world. Peter wanted to
be one of Jesus’ right-hand men in creating their kingdom on
earth. When Peter
saw that Jesus had a very different idea of what it meant to
be the Messiah, Peter had to speak his mind and set Jesus
straight. Of course, Jesus set Peter straight and made him a
fisher of men for God’s kingdom.
As
Jesus washed their feet, he told the disciples that they would
later understand what he was doing. What they would later
understand is that Jesus chose to die and be raised from the
dead so that the kingdom-building of God on earth could begin.
His mission was to serve his Heavenly Father’s plan. For God
so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son (John
3:16). After washing their feet, Jesus explained to his
disciples why he did it and told them they should do likewise.
Peter
did not understand, even after seeing Jesus’ empty tomb.
Rather than being about washing feet and Jesus’ ministry,
Peter went back to fishing, his occupation before leaving
everything to follow Jesus. It was not until Jesus called out
to Peter and his fishing buddies to cast their nets on the
other side of the boat after hours of catching nothing that
Peter understood what Jesus was talking about during that last
supper. Peter understood more fully why Jesus lowered himself
to wash their feet and why Jesus chose to die. The
resurrection was beyond anyone’s comprehension. But Peter
knew he was no longer to be a fisherman, but rather a fisher
of men who loved and served those Jesus called his sheep.
While
preparing this sermon, I pondered what servants and service
look like today. The first thoughts that came to my mind
included how today’s business of customer service is
increasingly challenging with the growing demands for more and
better quality service. I also thought of how important good
service is to any company or institution and how people in
customer service are not the best treated members of our
society.
That
last thought reminded me of a job I had while I lived with my
relatives in Korea for six months. It was in January of 1996
that I traveled to Korea to meet my extended family,
especially my grandmother, and to learn more about my culture
and language. My family moved to the United States when I was
around two years old. Therefore, this was a significant trip.
While
living with my relatives, I intentionally did not take a
full-time job to teach English.
Unfortunately, I had learned very little Korean in my
early years. So I needed to be engrossed in the language and
culture as much as possible. I pulled my weight by taking a
job at an international bakery. I would occasionally be needed
to translate, but two of my primary jobs were to carry large
amounts of bread to certain locations and to sell bread at an
elementary school that tutored Korean children in English.
My
poor language skills made it quite difficult to be the most
effective bread boy. Every day for lunch I would bring loads
of sandwiches and baguettes to the school. The children would
line up and tell me what they wanted and hand me their lunch
money. That was the easy part. The hard part was getting the
sandwiches and their change back in their hands in a timely
manner. Of course, there were the attempts to explain that I
was out of their favorite breads or sandwiches, to which I
learned to swallow my pride as they complained that I took too
long and said things I could barely understand but knew were
not kind comments.
As
if things couldn’t get worse, the boss at the bakery told me
we had to raise the prices. Now, some kids did not have enough
money and that really did not help with trying to provide the
best customer service. The English teacher began arguing with
me in Korean. It was more like me standing there while she
yelled at me. I finally had enough and spoke in perfect
English, saying, “I am very sorry that the prices were
raised. I only sell the bread. I do not set the prices. I am
from America and am learning Korean, which this job helps me
do. I will talk to my employer about this and see if we can
make better arrangements.”
She
looked at me for a moment as if I were crazy. At that moment,
I felt I was crazy for taking such a job. But then she asked
if I would like to teach at their school. I thanked her for
her offer, but told her that I only sell bread. Well, after
that moment, my days selling bread at her school were much
easier.
It
is sometimes amazing what life-stories can surface when
reading scripture. I looked back at that experience in light
of Jesus’ example of being a servant. I could have taken the
English teaching job. But I did not, because I knew why I was
selling bread and accepted what I endured because of my goals.
It would have been easy to toss the bread and teach. But I
knew that would have greatly lessened my experience.
It
is somewhat the same when looking at ourselves as Christians,
disciples of Jesus Christ. As crazy as it seemed for me to be
selling bread and serving elementary kids with my limited
Korean, it may seem weird to some when witnessing Christians
serve in the ways they do. We are to love our enemies, forgive
rather than seek revenge, live by Christian morals, values and
standards that seem to some more like unnecessary restrictions
than safer and more joyful ways for life. You can add to that
short list.
Of
course, service projects are encouraged by schools and
companies. Some even enjoy it. Most find it very rewarding.
Our way of life is a life of being a servant, about following
Jesus’ example of “washing feet.” Serving one another is
a continual source of fulfillment. Why? It is because we are
created to be about fulfilling God’s work and will. Our
relationship with God and each other is based on servanthood.
John
Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was one of the pioneers of
our faith who sought to tend to the needs of the poor and
oppressed; the kinds of ministries that seemed to be like
“washing feet.” Jesus tells us to go to the poor, naked,
imprisoned, oppressed, hungry and rejected. That is what the
two greatest commandments are about. And what joy and
fulfillment we find in fulfilling the will of God by loving
God with all our possessions and all our being and loving
others as we love ourselves. As in John Wesley’s time, we
also need leaders who are about the business of “foot
washing.”
I
was trying to find today’s equivalent of foot washing, and I
could not. What I did think of were the ways in which certain
acts can be like washing feet to us. To put things in
perspective, we live in a country that has most of the
world’s wealth and resources. We have an abundant amount of
freedom and a multitude of choices in life to enjoy our
freedom and lives even more.
Compared to the majority of the world’s population,
we are one of the most blessed and privileged people. But even
in our own country, we have poverty, oppression, people who
live on the streets, and those whose lives we can hardly
believe are true. To these and to the ways in which we live,
we are to be people who are about the “washing of feet.”
The ministries at First Church that come to mind when I think
about how we are washing other’s feet include the Hunger
Ministry projects, the CROP Walk, Angel Tree, Camp New Day and
SOS, to name a few. This is great, and we must continue and
encourage each other to do these acts of service, being
examples to others and to our children.
As
Jesus humbled himself, not abusing his authority or position,
we are never to elevate anyone or ourselves so as to be beyond
the tasks of a servant. The tasks are our ministries from God.
Though we are equally created, we are not equally
placed in creation.
Another
act that seems like “washing feet” is the act of
forgiveness. This does not mean we ignore, try to forget,
smooth over, or condone the wrong that happened. But it does
mean that there is reconciliation, a healing to the
relationship that was damaged. Forgiveness has been given to
us through the act of our Lord and Savior. And Jesus also
calls us to follow in the acts of forgiveness.
Jesus
did not only wash the feet of his beloved disciples, but also
the one who was to betray him, Judas. In a sense, Jesus washed
the feet of his enemy. Judas fell to the temptation to hand
over Jesus for a handsome payment. If you know the story,
Judas could not bear the guilt of what he had done and later
hung himself. Not only did he not seek forgiveness, he could
not forgive himself. The opposite was true about Peter, who
denied he knew Jesus three times before Jesus was crucified.
Peter found and accepted forgiveness and was able to forgive
himself.
Letting
Jesus wash your feet in this way may be difficult. First, you
have to admit to sinning, accept that you cannot obtain
forgiveness on your own, and allow Jesus to be the one who
died for you and forgave your sins, to be the Savior and Lord
of your life. But washing the feet of your enemy is much more
difficult.
You
may have heard or read about Jim and Elizabeth Eliot,
missionaries who traveled to places never visited by
outsiders. Jim and his missionary partner, who wanted to make
initial contact with the unknown people, were later found dead
by their airplane. They were killed by the frightened natives.
And though this would have been good reason to stop their
mission to reach this group with the gospel of Jesus Christ,
Elizabeth Eliot continued on the mission, to reach even those
who killed her husband.
Along
with other missionaries, they were able to encounter and
befriend them. What amazed me when watching a documentary on
Jim and Elizabeth Eliot was not only that Elizabeth did learn
to communicate with the natives and share the Gospel with
them, she was an example of God’s grace and love to the
extent of forgiving and even befriending the man who actually
killed her husband. In the scene in which the commentator
explained the extent of her love, Elizabeth was actually
giving a haircut to that very man.
Under
other circumstances, if I were the man getting a haircut from
the woman whose husband I killed, I would honestly be quite
afraid of her with a pair of sharp scissors in her hands. But
that was not the case with this man. He was actually smiling
and at peace. I know the man must have felt much sorrow,
regret and pain for acting so ruthlessly out of fear and
threat. But to be forgiven by Elizabeth must have been an even
more amazing feeling that gave him assurance not only of her
forgiveness, but also of God’s through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said,
“Do you know what I’ve done to you?” I would like to end
with asking you two questions. Do you know what Jesus has done
to you? And do you know what Jesus asks of you?
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