Washing One Another’s Feet

Last night Trinity had our Maundy Thursday service. Maundy Thursday is what they call the Thursday before Easter, when Jesus turned the Passover meal into the Lord’s Supper/Mass/Eucharist/Holy Communion.

Usually our Maundy Thursday service focuses on the Lord’s Supper. This year we added a foot washing piece.

In Israel at the time of Christ, everybody wore sandals, and they either walked or rode donkeys – on rare occasions, camels or horses. Sandals were easy and cool, but they let all the dirt and dust and “donkey pollution” from the roads get all over your feet. So whenever you went into somebody’s house, they would have a servant untie your sandals and wash your feet. Since this was such a dirty job, it was usually the lowliest servant who was assigned to this task.

On that first Maundy Thursday, Jesus and his disciples were in a rented room. There was no host, and no servants. So everybody just came on in and sat around the table with their dirty smelly feet sticking out.

John’s gospel tells us the meal had gotten well under way. In other words, Jesus gave everyone ample opportunity to do something. They all missed their chance. Finally Jesus himself got up from his meal, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, took a pitcher and basin, and began to wash his followers’ dirty feet. Jesus, the Lord of the universe, took the place of the lowliest servant.

The values of God’s kingdom turn the values of this world upside down. Jesus was demonstrating that in a way none of them would ever forget.

Last night we offered an opportunity for folks to wash one another’s feet. Maybe a third of the people there did. You could tell it was a moving experience for everyone, those who washed and those who watched.

For me, the most moving part was seeing several older couples, people in their seventies and eighties, washing each other’s feet. Very slowly and carefully getting down on their knees, then very tenderly washing and drying the feet of the man or woman they had lived with and loved for fifty years or more, then reversing roles and allowing their feet to be washed.

What a picture of love and devotion. I won’t forget it soon.