Road Trippin With Rachael

Have you ever had to do a chore that you absolutely hated? You know the one that I’m talking about. It is the one that gets you hot, sweaty, its just plain nasty to do, and there are other people who could do it, but they aren’t going to so you are the one who is stuck doing it because it has to get done. It’s the one that is you actually shouldn’t have to do, because you have other things that are on the “To Do” List that only you can do, and there are others who can get it done.

That would be footwashing.

Within the wider Christian world, many practice this today. For some it is a literal washing of feet, and for others it is implementing the principles associated with foot washing. Either way, from a Christian perspective, we do need to give foot washing some theological head space, as it is something that Jesus did for the disciples in John 13. Today, we are going to be considering the why of foot washing and I’m going to be sharing some of my thoughts as to how this works in a modern context for the believer.

Why?

I eluded to it in the opening, but the question needs to be posed – “why did the disciples feet even need to be washed?”

Let’s take a brief history lesson of what would have been happening in the ancient near and middle east at this time. The Roman Empire had conquered the known world, stretching upwards through Britain, across the Middle East, and through the north of Africa. A major advantage that was brought by the Roman Empire was their appreciation for Greek culture and infostructure, which resulted in roads that connected the empire. As the locomotive, steam engine, and automobile had not yet come into being people got great use out of the nature form of transportation God gifted them with – their feet.

Of course, there were other forms of transportation. People did make use of beasts of burden (horses, donkeys, and camels) and they employed ships and boats, but feet were the still the primary source – especially on the the day to day. And let us not forget, Israel is in the desert – which means there is sand and their is dirt. I live in Missouri, USA and there is sand and dirt – it’s a universal phenomenon. The result of sand, dirt, the most practical footwear being most practical choice, animals on the road, and weather means that feet were nasty-dirty. Feet were callous, caked in dirt, and likely other things that come out of animals.

This was not the job that anyone wanted.

Typically, this was a job that would be reserved for the whoever held the lowest status in a household. That could mean the youngest child or a servant. It would be highly unlikely that it would be the master of the house or his wife that would be performing such an act of service. It would be deemed beneath them. And that is why when Jesus washes the disciples’ feet in John 13 it is so shocking. Let’s list the reasons:

• Someone from the host’s family or in their service should have done the chore
• The highest ranking guest does the chore (John 13:5, 13)
• The disciples didn’t volunteer (John 13:6-8)
• They were in the upper room, so the dirt was tracked through the house.

As you can see from the list, there was a definite breakdown in social rules that takes place. But isn’t that one of the beautiful parts of God? There isn’t a hierarchy of important believers, and Jesus demonstrates this for us (John 13:15). The verses that follow record Jesus explaining why he does this. It is because he wanted this to be a teachable moment. The disciples were going to be his messengers – they had previously been sent out to tell what God is doing (Luke 10) – and he reminds them of something that they already knew: the servant is not above the master and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him (John 13:16-17). But he also leaves them with an even more important lesson that undergirds everything else he has taught them by washing their feet: Love one another (13:34-35).

A Christian’s Take

Where is it that we go from here? Its a reasonable question. I’m not saying that I have all the answers, but these are my thoughts on the issue.

One: Love one another. It is so easy to say, but so hard to live out. There are some people that are plain hard to like, let alone love. When I think about loving others, I think about service. I think about how can I provide something they needs. How can I care for them in that moment. Is there an immediate need I can provide? If I do something for them, will this help or harm long term? That’s an unfortunately question that we need to ask ourselves – because some times holding someone accountable for their actions is loving them.

Two: Be willing to serve. There is something to say about filling a need even when it isn’t your responsibility. Jesus washed feet; this was a duty that had nothing to do with what he came for, and it was, frankly, beneath him. But I think we should all look at ourselves (myself included) and think about what we are unwilling to do because we think i is beneath us. I was a custodian at one point in time. Cleaning up after people is a terrible job. It isn’t so bad if people are courteous enough to make things easy: put trash in the trashcan, pick up the big things off the floor that need to go in the trash, gather up the trash if there is an event or party, and don’t make a bigger mess than you need to. The sheer mess that people would leave…it was overwhelming. And I specifically remember an eight-year old looking me in the eye after she dumped glitter, paper, and glue on the floor that she didn’t need to clean that up because her mom said that was my job. That little girl had been taught it was beneath her to offer common courtesy, to serve in a job that was deemed beneath her. Now, I will say I was a paid employee and I was paid to clean – but that something I never considered doing: deliberately making a mess for someone else to clean up. I will say this, there is no job, position, or task that is beneath anyone. If you can serve by cleaning toilets, you clean the toilets. If you can serve by being part of a meal train for a family with a new born – do it. There is something to be said for utilizing your spiritual gifts and being in the right ministry – but you are never above doing something for someone else.

Three: Practice this in your daily life. I’ve been to a wedding where the bride and the groom washed each other’s feet. They did it because they wanted to symbolize how they were going to serve each other in love. They were going to be willing to do things that they wouldn’t necessarily want to do, but were willing to do because they loved the other person. If we are going to love one another, then we need to be willing to serve one another even when doing so is something that we might always care to do. (**This does not include putting yourself at risk. If that is required, you need to get help and you need to get the other person help as well.)

**As a side note for my little story, that 8 year old was the pastor’s daughter of the church I worked at. So when I say there is no one above doing something beneath them, that includes pastors. This pastor eventually decided they didn’t need my position after I left for a new job, and would complain about no one being willing to clean the bathrooms. I guess he learned his lesson. He is no longer the pastor at that church.**

Final Thoughts

There is a lot that can be learned from John 13. Although the content of this blog post and the YouTube video was focused on foot washing, there is so much more that can be mined out of chapter 13. We are called to love one another, and some times that means doing a chore or a task that we believe to be beneath us. But at the end of the day, Jesus coming to the cross and dying there to save sinful people from their sins, that was an act that was beneath him. He set an example with the foot washing to teach us to love each other and to serve each other, but he also reminds us that we aren’t as high and mighty as we like to think that we are. The one who deserves to be served, chose to come to earth and serve his creation.