We wash others regularly throughout out lives. We wash our children’s feet, hands, and even their bodies to make sure they get off the grime from the day. We wash loved ones and even fellow Christians in the hospital who are too weak to wash themselves. And, of course, we wash our spouses and mothers and fathers when they get too old and too frail to do it themselves. This is a loving service that surely makes Christ smile whenever he sees it. But, it is not quite the same as the washing Jesus did for his disciples.
The washing of children, the sick, and the frail is a washing that is accepted and even expected in our culture. Those who are parents and those who are strong are supposed to help the young and the weak. It is the right thing to do. But, are presidents expected to wash dishonorably discharged soldiers? No. Are CEOs expected to lick the feet of mail sorters? Hardly. Are divorced spouses expected to make the needs of his or her former spouse a priority in life? Of course not. Yet, Jesus, the Son of God, the power of the Almighty, washes his follower’s feet. The king washes the feet of his slaves. This is true love. It is a love that is different from the kind of love the world has to offer.
The definition of “love” in God’s kingdom is not “having good feelings about another person.” Apparently, before Jesus goes off to die, he wants to make sure that his disciples understand the correct definition of “love.” Love is: “Serving others before I serve myself; especially serving those who do not normally get such devotion or do not even deserve it.”
The disciples have a very real physical need. Their feet are dirty. Jesus washes them…all of them. He washes the feet of Peter who will deny knowing him in order to save his own skin. Jesus does not refuse to wash Judas’ feet; the one who will soon choose silver coins over loving Christ. Love in God’s kingdom is: “Serving others before I serve myself; especially serving those who do not normally get such devotion or do not even deserve it.” Such love is not the way of the world. However, the way of the world rarely saves anyone. The cross, the ultimate symbol of serving those who are either forgotten, or who do not deserve it, manages to save everyone.
But, you don’t have to look all the way to the cross to see the redemptive work of God’s love. All you have to do is look at the hands of a pastor friend of mine. In those hands you will see the imprint of God’s serving love.
He would be embarrassed to know that I am typing this story, but I will anyway. At least I will not use his name. On a recent trip to Tanzania, the Pastor stayed with the Bishop of one of the Tanzania synods. At supper, the Bishop would ask his wife to be hospitable to his guests. She was to cook the meal, serve the meal, and clean up the afterwards. She would eat her own meal in the kitchen only after everyone else was finished. Please understand that this is not unique to the Bishop’s home. This is the way of things in many Tanzanian homes. It is the way of the world. But, the Pastor did not see it as the way of the Christian.
One evening the Pastor stunned the Bishop as he rose from the table, stopped the wife as she brought out beautiful plates of steaming food, took the plates, offered his own seat to the wife, and finished by serving the food to the wife first and then to the others…serving the Bishop last. After cleaning up the meal he saw that the wife had tears in her eyes. She had never been honored in such a way. The Bishop, though he read the story of Jesus washing his disciple’s feet for many years, had never before seen the injustice in his own home.
Did the Bishop have good feelings about his wife? Of course he did. Did he fail to love her by Christ’s definition? Yes. He had failed to love, and he didn’t even notice. But, Christ had not forgotten to serve him. Through the Pastor, the Bishop’s eyes were opened to what true Christian love looks like.
We can make Christian love too spiritualized sometimes. Like Peter, we want to make it more than it is; “Wash my head and my hands then!” Don’t look too deep. The message is simple: to love is to serve. Jesus says, “You need your feet washed? I’ll wash your feet. You need a meal? I’ll feed you. You need sin taken off of your shoulders? I’ll take them. I love you.”
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