Jesus came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize 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.” John 13:6-8
Yes, the Church is currently in the Season of Advent. We are all preparing for the joy and excitement of recalling the Bith of Jesus Christ, and also we prepare for His Second Coming. I am doing my best to be in "Advent mode", but my personal studies of the Bible have me towards the end of John's Gospel. I guess the Holy Spirit is telling me to look forward to Jesus' return this year more than the comfortable, sentimental idea of Christmas. I am not sure this is what I want to feel, but I cannot deny where the Spirit leads. So, what to do with the Foot Washing in Advent? Recently, in a discussion, the question was asked; "is it easier to have your feet washed, or to wash the feet of others?" As a pastor, I have had the priveladge of being the one who gets down on the ground, and washes the feet of members of the parish. This litrugy is powerful in that I am sternly reminded of doind the exact work of Jesus Christ. The question though is one that must be considered. I don't mind washing the feet of others, I consider it a service, an honor. However, I am not comfortable with someone else washing my feet, I don't even like people seeing my feet! Perhaps this is why Peter reacts the way he does. Do you like your feet? Today, we are blessed to have socks, and Nikes to cover our feet, to keep them clean. So, other than the occasional foot odor, we have pretty clean feet. Not so in Jesus' day. If you were wealthy, sandals perhaps, but a lot of folks had nothing between the nakendness of their feet and the dirt of the ground. Imagine what their feet must have looked (smelled too) like. Not only dirt, but animal droppings, even human (no port-a-johns) , who knows what else someone could pick up throughout their travels. This is the background upon which we find our Lord and Savior Jesus giving himself to. Take off your shoes and socks, look down at your feet, What do you see? Dirt under your nails, perhaps nails that need to be trimmed, hairy toes, dirt between your toes, what do you see? Imagine what Jesus saw! As you look down, Jesus approaches. He is kneeling before you, water ready, he looks up to you, and says; "it is time." This is the message of recovery from Jesus; "it is time". Recovery is about dirt. It is about the 'feet of our soul'. Time to get them washed by God. The first step of recovery is that we admit our powerlessness over our dirt. Second step is we askcnowledge that only God can restore us, wash us. And so we do, we remove the comfort and security of our shoes and socks, and we expose our dirty feet to Jesus. There is freedom in this step, of course you have to trust God to wash your dirt away. We know that we are forgiven by being washed in the Blood of the Lamb, so again, we come, we expose our dirt, and we trust God to wash us clean. But there is more! 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. John 13:12-15 Now it is our turn to wash one another's feet! I recall my first 12 Step meeting. After having other men expose their dirty feet, and sharing how God and others in the fellowship had led them to a new way of life, a life of no more shame, no more filth, I felt like I had to share, and share it all! And that is what I did. Again, this was uncomfortable, I would have loved to keep my shoes and socks on and just help others keep clean, but I had lived this life too long, too long in my own filth. Trusting others is another key component to the 12 Step fellowhsip of recovery. First God cleanses, then others. I shared my dirt, and others gathered around me in prayer to let me know that I am not alone in this journey, and that we have God and one another. Being bold enough to strip off our shoes and socks to allow God and others to see our dirty feet allows us to be restored to the life that we all truly want, no more dirt, no more hiding, no more shame, no more guilt. Let God clean your dirty feet, allow others to do so as well, then turn and do the ministry of service by cleaning the feet of others. You will be blessed when you do so! Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them
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AuthorsAdam Egan, Founder of David's Post Ministry Archives
January 2020
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