Foot Washing after Easter
At our staff meeting last week, Rev. Dr. David Abbott gave a short and deep reflection on St. John’s account of Jesus washing feet and asked us to reflect on how we experience foot washing in our lives. For me, in the new light of the resurrection, the act of washing feet takes on even more profound meaning. On Thursday night, the washing of Peter’s feet was shocking because this act of hospitality was usually performed by a servant or the wife of the host. It was common and expected for someone of a lower social status to wash the dust and dirt off the feet of a person with higher social standing. I think Peter was repulsed at the idea of his esteemed teacher, whom he recognized as the Christ, being lowered to a foot-washing servant.
On Thursday night, the human man Jesus, with the strong hands of a carpenter, physically washed feet. Not only did Jesus humble himself by taking on human flesh, but Jesus also stooped even lower to provide the example of the way (the state of mind) and the requirement of humility, to be a disciple. This ritual of the washing of feet was considered to be the eighth sacrament of the early church, although not formally adopted as such. A good definition of a sacrament is an encounter with Christ in a life changing way. Certainly, Peter experienced this on Thursday night at the Passover meal. I wonder if, after seeing the empty tomb, Peter had a jolt of awe, a shiver down his spine, as he remembered Jesus washing his dirty feet. The Risen Christ washed his feet. Indeed, Jesus washes our feet.
Before the Passover meal and the institution of communion, Jesus prepared the disciples hearts to receive his holy meal. In order to receive Christ in the bread and wine, the disciples had to be washed of their pride. Allowing Jesus to wash our feet is an act of humility. Before coming to the communion table, I need my feet washed, along with my pride and my sin. It takes humility to confess sin, to have my soul washed as well as my feet. Humility opens the heart so that we receive Jesus, the risen Christ, in the bread and wine. How profound it is to break bread together on our knees.