DO QUICKLY WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 (NRSV)
I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!
John 13:1-17 (CEB)
Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully.
Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. The devil had already provoked Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God. So he got up from the table and took off his robes. Picking up a linen towel, he tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he was wearing. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but you will understand later.”
“No!” Peter said. “You will never wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t have a place with me.”
Simon Peter said, “Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus responded, “Those who have bathed need only to have their feet washed, because they are completely clean. You disciples are clean, but not every one of you.” He knew who would betray him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you is clean.”
After he washed the disciples’ feet, he put on his robes and returned to his place at the table. He said to them, “Do you know what I’ve done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you speak correctly, because I am. If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you too must wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example: Just as I have done, you also must do. I assure you, servants aren’t greater than their master, nor are those who are sent greater than the one who sent them. Since you know these things, you will be happy if you do them.
______________________
John’s version of the Last Supper is different from the other three Gospels. There aren’t any words of institution for what became the sacrament. Instead, we have this washing of the feet. In the wordiest, most philosophical gospel, we have a silent action, defining this most significant of events, one that would come to shape the worship of the people of God for centuries. Yes, there was discussion about it afterward. There had to be. Jesus was dealing with folks who were slow to see what he was doing. So, he had to sit them down and explain it all. But it began with an action, not with words. The words came later.
You can almost imagine the scene played out in that upper room. Jesus, watching the interactions of the others, finally rises from his seat and moves toward the basin and pitcher by the entrance. He wraps a towel around his waist, pours the water into the basin, and turns to serve. When did they notice him? Were they distracted by their conversations? By their arguments over who did the most work in setting up the meal? By their accusations and irritations? Or was it the old jokes that they passed around the circle, the ones that always made them laugh? Did they retell the stories of the road, the things they had seen, the unexplainable moments that still raised their eyebrows, or the things that Jesus had done that still made them furrow their brows or shrug their shoulders? Did one of them see Jesus slip to the door and grab that towel? Thaddeus, standing at the back, spied Jesus heading to the basin. and his eyes grew wide. He elbowed the rest of them aside, and a silence fell over the room, as one by one they turned and watched what Jesus was doing.
Were they curious? Guilty? Confused? Who knows? But they sat in open-mouthed wonder at what Jesus was doing. As he moved around, the uncomfortable silence grew. Until Peter (always Peter, count on Peter to break the silence, to fill the void with words) protested. “No, Lord!” he exclaimed, “You’ll never wash my feet!” He drew his big, dirty feet up under himself, to keep them from Jesus. Jesus spoke, at last. It was quiet, and the disciples had to lean in to hear. “Unless,” Jesus said in a near whisper, “you’ll have no part of me.” It was a bomb dropped in the room. Naturally, Peter exploded. “Then wash me! My feet, my hands, my head, all of me!!” Jesus waves his hands as if swatting away a fly, “Your feet are enough.” And then he bent to the task.
Then Jesus explained what he was doing and why. Did they get it? I doubt it, but maybe something was slowly sinking in. The day we observe in Holy Week, called Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, has three components. Most prominent for most of us is the sacrament of Holy Communion, which is the center of the story in the other three gospels. John focused on this act of service, and many churches observe foot washing in some form or another. It was an uncomfortable moment for the disciples, because of who was doing it, not because of the foot washing itself. They were used to the practice; it was part of the culture. For us, it is just odd; we have nothing culturally similar. Yet, we can capture something of the significance when we attempt to humble ourselves in this ritual.
The third component of this day, the one that gives it its name, is in the explanation. A new commandment I give to you, Jesus said. Maundy is derived from the Latin mandatum, meaning commandment. “Love one another, as I have loved you”: That’s the commandment. It was given after the washing of feet, the bending before the other. This is the kind of love being described, being commanded.
“He has heard my voice,” says the psalmist, “and my supplications.” He has bent down to me, loved me, saved me, healed me. So, what can I do but love like that? What can I do but bend to those who are bowed under the weight of this world? That’s what it means to be a servant of the Lord. To stand and to act out of the awe of what has been done before us and to us.
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 (NRSV)
I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!
John 13:1-17 (CEB)
Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully.
Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. The devil had already provoked Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God. So he got up from the table and took off his robes. Picking up a linen towel, he tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he was wearing. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but you will understand later.”
“No!” Peter said. “You will never wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t have a place with me.”
Simon Peter said, “Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus responded, “Those who have bathed need only to have their feet washed, because they are completely clean. You disciples are clean, but not every one of you.” He knew who would betray him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you is clean.”
After he washed the disciples’ feet, he put on his robes and returned to his place at the table. He said to them, “Do you know what I’ve done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you speak correctly, because I am. If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you too must wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example: Just as I have done, you also must do. I assure you, servants aren’t greater than their master, nor are those who are sent greater than the one who sent them. Since you know these things, you will be happy if you do them.
______________________
John’s version of the Last Supper is different from the other three Gospels. There aren’t any words of institution for what became the sacrament. Instead, we have this washing of the feet. In the wordiest, most philosophical gospel, we have a silent action, defining this most significant of events, one that would come to shape the worship of the people of God for centuries. Yes, there was discussion about it afterward. There had to be. Jesus was dealing with folks who were slow to see what he was doing. So, he had to sit them down and explain it all. But it began with an action, not with words. The words came later.
You can almost imagine the scene played out in that upper room. Jesus, watching the interactions of the others, finally rises from his seat and moves toward the basin and pitcher by the entrance. He wraps a towel around his waist, pours the water into the basin, and turns to serve. When did they notice him? Were they distracted by their conversations? By their arguments over who did the most work in setting up the meal? By their accusations and irritations? Or was it the old jokes that they passed around the circle, the ones that always made them laugh? Did they retell the stories of the road, the things they had seen, the unexplainable moments that still raised their eyebrows, or the things that Jesus had done that still made them furrow their brows or shrug their shoulders? Did one of them see Jesus slip to the door and grab that towel? Thaddeus, standing at the back, spied Jesus heading to the basin. and his eyes grew wide. He elbowed the rest of them aside, and a silence fell over the room, as one by one they turned and watched what Jesus was doing.
Were they curious? Guilty? Confused? Who knows? But they sat in open-mouthed wonder at what Jesus was doing. As he moved around, the uncomfortable silence grew. Until Peter (always Peter, count on Peter to break the silence, to fill the void with words) protested. “No, Lord!” he exclaimed, “You’ll never wash my feet!” He drew his big, dirty feet up under himself, to keep them from Jesus. Jesus spoke, at last. It was quiet, and the disciples had to lean in to hear. “Unless,” Jesus said in a near whisper, “you’ll have no part of me.” It was a bomb dropped in the room. Naturally, Peter exploded. “Then wash me! My feet, my hands, my head, all of me!!” Jesus waves his hands as if swatting away a fly, “Your feet are enough.” And then he bent to the task.
Then Jesus explained what he was doing and why. Did they get it? I doubt it, but maybe something was slowly sinking in. The day we observe in Holy Week, called Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, has three components. Most prominent for most of us is the sacrament of Holy Communion, which is the center of the story in the other three gospels. John focused on this act of service, and many churches observe foot washing in some form or another. It was an uncomfortable moment for the disciples, because of who was doing it, not because of the foot washing itself. They were used to the practice; it was part of the culture. For us, it is just odd; we have nothing culturally similar. Yet, we can capture something of the significance when we attempt to humble ourselves in this ritual.
The third component of this day, the one that gives it its name, is in the explanation. A new commandment I give to you, Jesus said. Maundy is derived from the Latin mandatum, meaning commandment. “Love one another, as I have loved you”: That’s the commandment. It was given after the washing of feet, the bending before the other. This is the kind of love being described, being commanded.
“He has heard my voice,” says the psalmist, “and my supplications.” He has bent down to me, loved me, saved me, healed me. So, what can I do but love like that? What can I do but bend to those who are bowed under the weight of this world? That’s what it means to be a servant of the Lord. To stand and to act out of the awe of what has been done before us and to us.
Today’s devotion comes from Discipleship Ministries,
an agency of The United Methodist Church.
For more, visit: www.discipleshipministries.org
an agency of The United Methodist Church.
For more, visit: www.discipleshipministries.org