| The first Passover must have been
a very strange meal to experience. Every Israelite family was to
obtain an unblemished one year old sheep or goat. This lamb was
to be kept five days. On the fifth day the entire community came
together and slaughtered the animals just as evening began. Then,
they took the animals' blood and covered the front door of
their homes with it. They roasted the entire animal and ate it
along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Whatever they didn't
consume had to be burned.
Instead of reclining at the table as was their normal custom
they were standing near the table prepared to quickly leave.
Sandals were on their feet and their walking sticks were in their
hands. Instead of leisurely dining they were to eat their food
as quickly as possible. Later that first Passover night all of
the firstborn male children in every home died except for those
homes where the blood had been put on the door way.
Likewise, the first celebration of what has come to be known
as the Lord's Supper had its strange moments as well. John
does not mention the unique use Jesus made of the bread on the
table or how He changed the ritual of the cup of blessing by
calling it His blood poured out for the sins of many. The apostle
Paul gives us that in his first letter to the Corinthian Church.
What Jesus does that is rather bizarre is washing the disciples' feet.
Foot washing in that culture was the accepted standard of any
host but it would always be assigned to some slave or lowly hired
servant. The host himself would never do this nor would it ever
be expected of him. But like He did with so many things Jesus
breaks with the established custom.
Leave it to Peter to object. Never one to be shy about expressing
his feelings Peter wanted none of this behavior from Jesus. Peter
didn't want Jesus to be acting like some powerless servant;
Peter wanted Jesus to be a ruler and king. Peter didn't
yet understand the Divine meaning of kingship—if you
want to be ruler of all you must first be the servant of all.
Even though Peter accepted Jesus as his rabbi and teacher and
thought of himself as a student or follower, he was not about
to allow himself to be led in this instance. Isn't it true
that many of us sometimes act like Peter? We want Jesus to be
our Savior but we are not ready to also have Him as our Lord.
We want God's favor; it's not always the case that
we want to give our obedience and trust in return.
Jesus tells Peter, "If you do not permit me to wash your
feet you are not part of me." Not wanting to be excluded
Peter invites Jesus to give him a complete bath. Jesus assures
Peter that his heart is in the right place and that only his
feet need washed. Here I believe we have something close to baptism
in that this action reveals that these disciples belong to Jesus.
Jesus also washed the feet of Judas but the heart and mind of
Judas were not in the right place.
Where is your heart and mind this evening? Are you refusing
the relationship God is offering you? Do you just need a simple
renewal because your heart and mind are in the right place? Or
is it possible that you might need a complete bath? Only you
and God know the answer to the aforementioned questions. It isn't
necessary for anyone else to know.
If we were experiencing the first Lord's Supper tonight
we as disciples would be competing for the seats of honor at
either side of Jesus. One of us would be contemplating betrayal.
All of us would be confused by how our Master confused the Passover
ritual with new meanings. We would be bewildered by bread being
His body and by His telling us to drink blood which is something
we would never do. Our religious law forbids it.
We would be falling asleep while Jesus was inviting us to prayer
and we would be scared to death when a group of soldiers came
and seized Jesus from our midst. We would be confused that one
of our family could be a betrayer. And, we would all be ashamed
of our cowardice when we hide and pretend to not even know Jesus.
At this very moment Jesus is kneeling before us and inviting
us to allow our feet to be washed as a means of His anointing
us, as a means of His demonstrating His love and friendship,
as a means of His helping us know that we belong to Him and that
He will not let go of us in spite of our letting go of Him.
And, finally, Jesus will feed us. We need not hurry. Our food
is not bitter herbs. Our food from Him is the Bread of Life and
the Cup of Salvation. It is Jesus' way of showing us what
He is commanding us to do which is to love one another in His
name. This is how others know who we are—the people of
Jesus. They know it when they see us loving each other.
Jay Rochelle, a pastor at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Allentown,
Pa.., writes the following: "This humble gesture of footwashing
points us to the path of service, compassion and love. All of
this silliness and risk are at the bottom of Christian action
in the world. Foot washing is more than a gesture. It is a model
for living the Christian way."
Are we able tonight to allow the Lord of Life to cleanse what
needs cleansing in each of us? Are we willing to allow ourselves
to be part of Him? Before the dawn comes we will each know the
answer to that question. What will it be? |
