Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
In the Gospel today, we hear Jesus
say, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have
loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
In this passage, we are called to
love one another. But it is a specific love. The same love Jesus shows us.
And in looking at the whole of this
chapter in John, we can see what sort of love that Jesus is showing us. This
passage marks the beginning of the end of Jesus’ ministry. He is gathered with
his disciples for a final meal, and for his last teaching. His final passing of
wisdom onto them.
But before this meal, before his
discourse with them, he does something that even the disciples find unusual.
Something so humbling. A thing only a servant would do. He goes and washes
their feet.
You may remember the story of the
foot washing from all the way back during Maundy Thursday. Peter gets uncomfortable
with this act, as perhaps some of you may have been during the foot washing
liturgy. Because for Peter, this is his teacher. His rabbi. His master. The one
he has declared to be the Messiah. The Christ. Here is The Lord doing the work
that Peter perhaps felt would have been more appropriate for him to do for
Jesus. It is a completely humbling act, wiping the dust and grime off one of
the most germ infested parts of the body.
It’s sometimes hard for us to
realize just how humbling an act this is, or really connect with the whole
concept of foot washing at all. Because for us, we only do this once a year.
And even then, there are many churches that do not perform this act. With
showers, hoses, and closed toed shoes, it’s hard to imagine what it would have
been like to have someone else wash our feet for us, or even to have the need
to have someone wash our feet. It’s hard to fully realize what this act of love
actual entails.
For me, I found a modern equivalent
that helped me understand the sort of love that is involved in Jesus’ foot
washing during my work at Holy Comforter in Atlanta this summer. Holy Comforter
is a church where the vast majority of the congregation lives with some form of
mental illness. And these members are truly the downcast of society. They are
packed in homes that cannot fit everyone comfortably. Many places they stay do
not have the resources to properly care for them. And some are taken advantage
of financially, or are even physically abused by their caretakers.
One of the ministries the church
provides is a foot clinic for members. I remember seeing one member I had
become close with at one of these clinics. He would frequently walk from his
care home, one of the worst looking places I saw that summer, to the church for
various events. His shoes were way past needing replacement, and his socks were
no better. At this clinic, I saw someone take off those shoes and socks, and
give him new ones that would be better for his feet. His toenails were not
quite to the point of curling, but were very close. His feet in general were
battered in ways that were painful to look at.
And then one of the volunteers came
and clipped his nails, and massaged his feet. This was someone who did not have
to be here to help this man. She had no reason to come to this part of the
city. She was there to give this man, this downtrodden member of the community,
the love that many had denied him.
This is the love that Jesus is
calling us to have for others. The love that does exactly what he did for us.
The love of one who comes and helps, even when it’s not necessary to do so.
Because God didn’t have to come down and be born as a human being and dwell
among us. And not even among those of us who are privileged, but instead among
the poor in a backwater country in the Roman Empire. Among the downcast. The undesirables.
He didn’t have to call us to repentance, especially since we had failed to
listen so many times before. And he absolutely did not have to die on the cross
to save us from our sins and be restored to new life in him.
And in the midst of all that, Jesus
did not have to do the work of a servant and wash his disciples’ feet. But he
did so anyways. Even though feet can be a gross and dirty part of the body,
Jesus loved his disciples so much, he was willing to humble himself to take
care of their feet. He loved them so much to make their dirty feet clean and
whole again.
So when Jesus calls us to love one
another as he has loved us, he means that we at times must humble ourselves. We
are called to get down into the nitty gritty of it all. We are called to do
what we can to care for those most people wouldn’t even dare talk to. Because
that is how Jesus has shown his love for us. By coming down and rescuing us
from death, even though he did not have to. And for this love, we can be glad
indeed.