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. Jn 13:15
Jesus washing the disciples feet encapsulates many of his
unique characteristics. His actions
show he is a different messiah to the one expected, he is not an all-conquering
Messiah, but one who prefers subtle yet provocative acts of subversion; acts
that in this case cause us to reflect on the relationship that we have with
serving and being served.
In this act of service Jesus could of sat or knelt at the feet of his disciples as he washed their feet. They are
above him, looking down on him, looking down on God. Through this act of service the disciples are not looking up
to the heavens to find the messiah, but down to the earth, the earth that Jesus
walked on. Jesus is a different
type of messiah, a messiah grounded in everyday human existence.
The act of foot washing changes the perspective through
which the disciples view the messiah.
To ‘look down’ on a person means that we don’t respect them and yet here
Jesus willingly places himself in a location where he will be looked down upon,
both literally and culturally.
Through the act of foot washing the one in authority becomes the
servant, and the one who is being served looks down on the one with
authority. Christ is subverting
power structures and what it means to have authority.
Finally this act draws us to the cross. On the cross, Jesus in all his
vulnerability and brokenness is looking down on the world, not from a position
of power, but from a place of brokenness.
A man who ultimately has the power to take himself off the cross and
raise himself above all of humanity in a mighty act of power, once again becomes
a servant. A servant who has offered his life to us all and through that offers
us a new way to live. A way to
live that has serving one another at the centre.
This writing is part of my contribution to the Favourable Time - Get it here!
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