Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
In the time of Jesus, if you entered the home of a prosperous person after a long journey, a slave would take you to a special room and there you would take a bath. Most people walked. The roads were dusty. Folks wore sandals or went barefoot. Feet got dirty. If you entered the home after a short journey, a slave would come to you, take off your sandals, and wash your feet as you sat at the table. People usually lounged on cushions around the table.
When he washes the feet of the disciples, Jesus is doing the work of a slave. We can imagine the disciples sitting in shocked silence as he washes their feet one by one. Finally, he gets to Peter, and Peter is not going to have his Lord doing the work of a slave. But Jesus tells Peter that he can have no share with Jesus unless he allows Jesus to wash his feet. What does this mean?
Gail R. O’Day of Emory University writes: “To have a share with Jesus is to have fellowship with him, to participate fully in his life. It draws the disciple into the love that marks God’s and Jesus’ relationship to each other and to the world. One’s share with Jesus, then, is the gift of full relationship with him.” (New Interpreter’s Bible, p. 723.)
We are called to accept Jesus’ model of servanthood, and we are called to do servant ministry in our own lives. We are also called to be cleansed and transformed by Jesus. We are called to realize that there is no task that is below us if it is done in the service of God, and that there is no person who is beyond the love of God.
Again this year, I think of Pope Francis, who so joyfully models Christ’s servanthood for all of us. Pope Francis has a share in the love that is between God and Jesus and the Spirit. That is what we are called to do—to accept Jesus’ ministry to us, to let him cleanse and heal us, to ground ourselves in his love, and then to share that love with others.
Amen.
Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Corinthians 11, Exodus 12, Gail R. O'Day, John 13, Maundy Thursday, Psalm 116 |
Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT) 