John 13.1-20
Maundy Thursday in lockdown is different from any other: we are unable to come together to worship, to share Communion, to recall that Last Supper in the upper room. I have had some memorable experiences on this day through the years, all of them spent in congregational groups. We have to find another way through this one, and perhaps for me, it is a call to a greater intimacy with Christ instead of hoping to share it with others.
Studying for Methodist ministry as a student deacon, I am more drawn to John's account of this night with the powerful description of Jesus as he humbly tied a towel at his waist and knelt right down there to wash his disciples' feet. There is an intimacy, a gentleness, in the description and it feels to me as if Jesus would have been careful to wash each foot thoroughly, taking his time and concentrating on one after the other. I can imagine the others watching as he made his way around the room, each perhaps slightly incredulous that their master, their leader, was on his knees washing their feet in that most lowly of roles.
Feet are a very personal part of our anatomy - we often keep them covered up in shoes for much of the year in this country, and it is very different from the context back then. Their feet were exposed to dirt and dust and even dung, if we are honest, and they must have needed a good washing very often! How different from the faint and slightly cheesy pong that might emanate from a pair of shoes we have had on all day! I recall the Bible stories that tell of how the disciples walked miles with Jesus and think of how important it would have been to them to have had healthy feet, able to walk those miles with him. Many of us don't like to have people touching our feet and the instances of public foot washing these days are lessening. Pope Francis caused a stir in 2015 by washing the feet of prison inmates and then in 2016 of refugees - this is a pope who is not one for staged niceties but actually gets out there with real people.
Today as I write this, my feet are nicely wrapped up in socks and trainers, and probably will be so for most of the day. That will enable me to do kitchen work, pop in and out to the garden, be comfortable and make sure that I don't tread on anything dodgy in my bare feet in the garden. I do however live with a family who prefer bare and stockinged feet so I'm different. It is good to be different sometimes! Indeed, Christ calls us as his followers to be different in his name, to live for him and in him whilst being in the world, in order to show the world what he brings to our lives.
This Maundy Thursday, as I think about the foot washing in John's gospel, I know that my calling is to be alongside people like me who might need a bit of a spruce up, spiritually, mentally or physic; to listen to stories - and some of them are painful to share, to hear and to hold; and to be as close as I can be to Christ as I allow him near my vulnerable places, to allow him to wash me clean. I am always in need of his forgiveness, and he promises that there is nothing we can do which can overcome his love for us, so he will always wash us clean when we come to him in repentance. He calls us to wash one another's feet, to a holy intimacy of care for one another, and that is the lockdown message at the moment - stay at home and protect the vulnerable - and so we can do that in his name, to his glory and by his word. Let's show that love for one another by staying at home!
Father, as we remember Christ's passion this week, as we stay apart and are unable to share together in person, grant us your peace in this situation. As we think of the intimacy of the foot washing, grant us wisdom to know who might need a personal word of encouragement this week, whispered quietly or written lovingly in a letter. Help us by your grace to have some measure of Christ's gentleness with others today. Amen.
Maundy Thursday in lockdown is different from any other: we are unable to come together to worship, to share Communion, to recall that Last Supper in the upper room. I have had some memorable experiences on this day through the years, all of them spent in congregational groups. We have to find another way through this one, and perhaps for me, it is a call to a greater intimacy with Christ instead of hoping to share it with others.
Studying for Methodist ministry as a student deacon, I am more drawn to John's account of this night with the powerful description of Jesus as he humbly tied a towel at his waist and knelt right down there to wash his disciples' feet. There is an intimacy, a gentleness, in the description and it feels to me as if Jesus would have been careful to wash each foot thoroughly, taking his time and concentrating on one after the other. I can imagine the others watching as he made his way around the room, each perhaps slightly incredulous that their master, their leader, was on his knees washing their feet in that most lowly of roles.
Feet are a very personal part of our anatomy - we often keep them covered up in shoes for much of the year in this country, and it is very different from the context back then. Their feet were exposed to dirt and dust and even dung, if we are honest, and they must have needed a good washing very often! How different from the faint and slightly cheesy pong that might emanate from a pair of shoes we have had on all day! I recall the Bible stories that tell of how the disciples walked miles with Jesus and think of how important it would have been to them to have had healthy feet, able to walk those miles with him. Many of us don't like to have people touching our feet and the instances of public foot washing these days are lessening. Pope Francis caused a stir in 2015 by washing the feet of prison inmates and then in 2016 of refugees - this is a pope who is not one for staged niceties but actually gets out there with real people.
Today as I write this, my feet are nicely wrapped up in socks and trainers, and probably will be so for most of the day. That will enable me to do kitchen work, pop in and out to the garden, be comfortable and make sure that I don't tread on anything dodgy in my bare feet in the garden. I do however live with a family who prefer bare and stockinged feet so I'm different. It is good to be different sometimes! Indeed, Christ calls us as his followers to be different in his name, to live for him and in him whilst being in the world, in order to show the world what he brings to our lives.
This Maundy Thursday, as I think about the foot washing in John's gospel, I know that my calling is to be alongside people like me who might need a bit of a spruce up, spiritually, mentally or physic; to listen to stories - and some of them are painful to share, to hear and to hold; and to be as close as I can be to Christ as I allow him near my vulnerable places, to allow him to wash me clean. I am always in need of his forgiveness, and he promises that there is nothing we can do which can overcome his love for us, so he will always wash us clean when we come to him in repentance. He calls us to wash one another's feet, to a holy intimacy of care for one another, and that is the lockdown message at the moment - stay at home and protect the vulnerable - and so we can do that in his name, to his glory and by his word. Let's show that love for one another by staying at home!
Father, as we remember Christ's passion this week, as we stay apart and are unable to share together in person, grant us your peace in this situation. As we think of the intimacy of the foot washing, grant us wisdom to know who might need a personal word of encouragement this week, whispered quietly or written lovingly in a letter. Help us by your grace to have some measure of Christ's gentleness with others today. Amen.
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2 comments:
I like this post about your calling; we all have a role to play as we follow the gospel.
I had not thought so much about the feet of the disciples. I always just assumed that they all wore sandals but they may not have had enough money to buy them and therefore had to walk everywhere barefoot.
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