So 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.” vss. 14-15
John 13:1-12, 31b-35
As is typical of John’s gospel, Peter and the other disciples didn’t quite understand what Jesus was doing when he washed their feet at the Passover meal. So when he had finished he explained what he had done, and told them to do likewise. The message is pretty straight forward and sums up our mission quite nicely. In some faith communities tonight there will be reenactments of the Passover foot-washing ceremony as a part of the liturgy. It can be a powerful and humbling experience, but its chief benefit is the clear direction it gives for the fulfilling of our mission as disciples of Jesus.
Never are we to lord it over others – our role is consistently to be that of a servant. And that’s not to be considered an anomaly, a symbolic task to be performed once a year. Jesus intends that whatever our position in life, whether as a server in a restaurant, a nurse in a care center, or the CEO of a large corporation, we are there to see to the needs of others, and not to just gratify our own needs and desires. Some of his followers “get it,” and demonstrate by their words and actions that their greatest delight is to be of service to another person. Where they are, Christ is made known!
Thought for the Day: How do I live out my servanthood?
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