Choir Anthem — “Wash Their Feet” by Pepper Choplin
There one night in the upper room, he shared a holy meal. He gave them bread and then the cup and said, “Remember Me.” Then my Master, Lord and King, kneeled to do this amazing thing, He washed their feet. He got down on His knees and washed their feet. Why would my Master, Lord and King, come to do this amazing thing? He washed their feet.
The Lord said, “As I come to wash your feet to make you pure and clean, go out now and touch the world, do what you have seen. Hear My call and live it true, do for them what I do for you. Go, wash their feet. Be a servant, humble and meek, wash their feet.”
Every week…we share communion. Why? Because on Jesus’ last night with his disciples…he broke bread and shared wine with them, and told them to continue to do this together in remembrance of him. So… every week…we gather together, with bread, wine, wafer, juice…and receive his body and blood — his life, his love, his forgiveness…his very real presence into our lives as we gather at his table. We find Jesus.
But here’s the thing…on that last night, before they shared the passover meal together, Jesus met them first, with a towel around his waist …and washed their feet. He did the servant’s job, washing away the dirt and dust of the day from the tired feet of his friends. And before he told them to continue share the bread and wine…he told them that as he had washed their feet…they should wash one another’s feet.
The Church of the Brethren washes feet regularly as a part of their love feast….it is integrated into the meal that they share. Some churches include it in their Maundy Thursday service…as they remember Jesus last night with his disciples. But most of us just skim past it..it’s awkward, after all.
When we have had foot washing services, most people don’t like to participate. They don’t want people to see their feet…much less touch their feet. It’s uncomfortable. It’s kind of intimate.
I mean…it’s okay if you’re getting a pedicure or something…that’s their job….but to have someone you know doing it…is awkward.
And the thing is…it seems that it was just as awkward for the disciples. After all, most of them were not wealthy. They didn’t have servants to wash their feet…they washed their own. And those who were used to servants….well, that was okay, because it was their job, after all….but having Jesus do it…was awkward. Peter told him to stop. But Jesus said…not only do you need to let me do this if you want to have a part of me…you need to do it for others.
Wash their feet….that was the choir anthem today. Do to others as I have done to you.
Find ways to be intimate and awkward and vulnerable and tender with one another…find ways to kneel before one another and in the midst of the smell and the dirt…to be gentle and caring.
Because that is what it means to be part of Jesus.
This morning, we read the familiar story that Jesus tells about the judgment of all the nations of the world….people of every culture and language…people of every stripe and flavor.
And he compares it to a king who separates people like sheep and goats…and the king says the sheep people fed him when he was hungry, gave him something to drink when he was thirsty, welcomed him when he was a stranger, clothed him when he was naked , took care of him when he was sick and visited him when he was in prison.
The sheep people are incredulous, of course, because kings never go hungry or thirsty…they are never without clothes, and never unwanted outsiders. They do not go to prison and have the best medical care when they are sick. And so they know for a fact, they have never done anything like this for the king. That’s ludicrous.
And when the king says that the goat people did not do anything for him when he was in need…they are just as incredulous. Because they have never seen the king in need, and so how on earth could they have failed him? Again…ludicrous.
But the king … is insistent. And claims that the people of his kingdom are extensions of himself. They are a reflection of him…a part of him. And so when his people’s needs are met …or ignored… it is just that same as if they cared for him…or ignored him. And so he decrees destruction for those who do not honor him….and reward for those who do….because that is what human kings do. Think King Herod …think Caesar…think Pharoah….if they aren’t on my team…we slaughter them, we crucify them, we through them in the Nile.
Of course, God isn’t a king like Herod…(thank GOD!)…or Caesar …or Pharoah. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God shows mercy on the undeserving and forgives us when we are dead in sin and do not know what we are doing. The truth is, God isn’t interested in slaughtering sheep or goats. No, the point is…when God looks at all the people of the world…what God really isn’t interested in is what tribe or nation they belong to, what religion they follow, what political system they support, what moral purity they maintain. Truly…God couldn’t care less. No…the only thing God cares about is how they care for those in need. For strangers, immigrants, outsiders. For the hungry, the thirsty, the sick and imprisoned. Because they are a reflection of God, a part of who God is.
This week, I think of the folks who were convicted and face jail time for leaving water jugs and food throughout the desert along the Arizona-Mexico border…so the families risking their lives to come to America would not die of thirst. I think of the folks who do hospice volunteer work…who tenderly care for those who are dying. I think of the folks at churches that serve meals for the homeless, who also have groups of volunteers prepared with latex gloves and clippers and chlorine and antibacterial soap and lotion and tubs of warm water to wash and tend to the calloused and cracked feet of those who come to dinner. I think of people who care for their aging parents or ill spouses — doing all those things none of us want to have anyone have to do for us — with patience and gentleness. I think of the church folks that attend gay pride parades and offer “free mom hugs” and “free dad hugs” for people whose own parents have abandoned them. I think of my dad…who went to the jail twice a week for over 20 years, volunteering his time to talk with inmates and bring them communion. This week, I think of all the awkward and intimate ways people care for those in need…
And I remember…that is where we find Jesus. To follow Jesus…to be a part of Jesus….to share in the only life that matters…the life that is eternal…we need to find ways to kneel before one another and in the midst of the smell and the dirt and mess of this world ….and to be tender and kind. We need to wash feet.
It’s easier to write checks….and Lord knows, ministries all over the world need those checks to keep doing the work that they do. We need checks to keep doing the work we do here at church. But finding Jesus in our midst requires more than our checkbooks. It requires our hands and our feet…it requires intimate and awkward moments…it requires love. For all God’s people. Not the ones we approve of or agree with or know or like…not just the goat people or the sheep people….but for all the people of God’s kingdom…for they are God’s reflection….God’s heart….God’s presence in our midst.
Amen.
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