Day 37 in the Wilderness with Jesus

Tonight we will act out the story of Jesus Last Supper with his disciples and the washing of feet. I will have the privilege to act out the role of Jesus and Pastor Laura will play the part of Peter, having his feet washed. The contemporary Bible paraphrase "The Word on the Street" (by Rob Lacey) reports it this way:

So Jesus gets up from the table, takes off his jacket, rolls up his sleeves and puts a towel around his waist. He pours water into a bowl and, one by one, washes his team's dirty, sweaty feet and dries them with a towel.
Pete's next in line and he can't quite handle it: "Boss, no way you're washing my feet, surely?" Jesus answers. "You can't take it in right now. But one day you will get it." "No way!" says Pete. "I'm not having you wash my feet." "If I don't, you're not part of it all," says Jesus. "OK, then wash me head to toe. I'm in- totally!" When Jesus finished all twelve (including Judas Iscariot!) he explains: "If I've washed your stinking feet and I'm your boss, your mentor, your coach, then you've got to wash each other's feet. As ever, I'm not asking you to do something that I wouldn't do. I'm your example- so copy me: get washing!" (John 13:3-15)

What do you suppose Jesus was thinking? What is it like to wash another's feet? It is certainly humbling- servants usually had that job. The use of the word "dirty, sweaty" and "stinking" in Rob Lacey's paraphrase really hammers home the fact that it was humbling for both Jesus and the disciples. It is actually an intimate act to wash someones feet. It is what your mother or father does for you after a day at the beach. It's what a nurse does for you when you are bedridden in the hospital. It is the powerful act of hospitality and compassion. And that was, I think, Jesus' message for us- to dare to enter into this intimate community in which he is the center. And it is messy- to be in community with each other, to be vulnerable with each other, to care for each other, and to wash each other's "stinking" feet. Jesus loves us enough to wash our feet. To enter into the grimy parts of our life and help us to clean up our act. And he commands us to do likewise but also to receive the love and care and concern that others offer us in Christ's name and by Christ's example. We are called to be both- the foot washers and the foot washees- that's the Jesus way.