The Servant King

Today I visited my aunt and uncle's church for Easter break. We attended a Maundy Thursday service, something I'd never done before.

The church I'm a part of is a modern non-denominational group. They have singing with guitars and drums as accompaniment and then a section of prayer and scripture reading before the pastor gets up to talk. Needless to say my aunt and uncle attend a more traditional Lutheran church where singing hymns, sitting on pews, kneeling on benches, and reciting prayers are common practices. Though different from my own traditions I do not wish to criticize the Lutheran ways. Instead I wish to talk about what I liked.

I am used to the hymns and the reciting from visiting my grandmother's church, but I was not prepared for something unique to Maundy Thursday...foot washing.

Interestingly enough I had just read the book in John which talked about foot washing earlier in the day in my Bible class.

John 13

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

 ¹ It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  ² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
 ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
 ⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
 ⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
   Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
 ⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
 ¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
 ¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.




In my Bible class my professor mentions how in John the foot washing is mentioned rather than communion. He commented on how he thought it was interesting that one tradition lives on in numerous faiths, but the other is hardly common practice. 


Needless to say when I saw foot washing in the bulletin I was a little nervous. I didn't really know if it was expected and if I would feel uncomfortable with a stranger touching my feet. I sat through much of the service wondering if I should just sit in the pews while my aunt and uncle did it, or if I should come. When it came to the time for it after the reading of John my uncle stood up. I was hesitating, wondering if I should go or not. He turned back to me and smiled "Going to get your feet washed?" 


I thought for a moment and then decided to throw my nervousness aside. I smiled back and rose. 


It was an odd experience. I took off my shoes and socks in church, releasing my smelly toes to the world. I sat and wriggled them as I waited my turn. After a few minutes the spot cleared and I sat down.


I nervously extended my foot into the basin and the pastor took it without hesitation. I watched somewhat awed as he poured warm water over my toes and then carefully drew them out of the water and dried them. 


As I was finishing and the pastor said a blessing to me I tried to imagine being in Peter's shoes...or bare feet I suppose. I imagined the man I called teacher and lord kneeling before me to clean my dusty, dirty, stinky feet. I imagined the grime from the streets on my toes, the smells of camel dung and sweat. And I tried to picture Jesus wrapped in a towel, kneeling before me carefully cleaning my disgusting toes. 




I had to shiver at the thought. Even in imagination it was somehow amazing. Because the thought of the God of the universe, who made each and every thing lowering himself to clean feet is incredible. Jesus was the Lord of all the Earth. He was the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, and yet he washed dirty feet like a servant would. 


In Matthew 23:12 it says: For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Jesus humbled himself and in that he is all the more powerful of a God. It's a paradox really, one of the many I've been learning of this past year.

However, there is more about foot washing which has touched my heart. If Jesus was willing to kneel at the feet of those who would deny him and betray him and wash their filthy feet in a manner of love, can he not love us no matter how dirty we are? Some people (myself included) seem to think that their sins are the worst there are. That God could never forgive them. But the truth is God touches that which is dirty and makes it new. God cleans and washes filth away, and he isn't repulsed in doing so. All we need do is repent and ask God to cleanse us and he will, because God is a God of love. God recognizes our dirtiness, but he does not push us away if we ask for forgiveness. He is a God of love, a God who would give up a throne to become a humble servant and die on the cross to save us all.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Philippians 2: 8