The Washing of the Feet, by Sieger Koder
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
In his telling of the Last Supper, John writes of an act of love not found in the other three Gospels. Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, but Simon Peter stops him. ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’
In my imagination, I watch Jesus kneel at my feet. He takes one of them in his hands, looking deeply into my eyes to understand my response before he begins. I feel loved, but also a bit uncomfortable. I see how vulnerable he is at that moment.
I invite you to put yourself in the story (below).
How would you feel if Jesus wanted to wash your feet? What do you see in his eyes? Would you be able to receive his love? Can we take what he offers?
There is also a passage from the Old Testament, from the prophet Jeremiah. What does the New Covenant say about God?
Jeremiah 31. 31-34 NIVUK
‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,’
declares the Lord.
‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,’ declares the Lord.
‘I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
John 13 excerpts NIVUK
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’
Jesus replied, ‘You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’
‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’
Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me “Teacher” and “Lord”, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
I come with joy, a child of God,
forgiven, loved and free,
the life of Jesus to recall
in love laid down for me.
Footwashing
Jesus poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet.
—John 13.5
A basin of baptismal water,
mother’s water breaking,
river of life, basin of tears.
With gentle hands he enfolds your feet,
your journey, your sorrow,
your pain.
He washes away
your fear, your betrayal,
your failure.
He rejoices to do this.
He is tender with you.
He is beneath you. Always.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
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