John
13:1-5, 12-17 (NIV) It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the
time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved
his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2 The
evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas
Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put
all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to
God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a
towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to
wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around
him.
. . .
12 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.
13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I
am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do
as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his
master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you
know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
NOTE: This is the
key pillar of the Christian message. It turns upside-down the world's view of
status. Jesus is Lord and Teacher, and as he says, rightly addressed by those
terms. But Jesus is not above being a servant to all. Nor do his titles make
him more important than others. Each person has value in the kingdom. No one is
more important than any other person. No person is above serving, not matter
how minuscule or 'low' the task is. In this setting, no one took upon
themselves the role of the servant who would wash the feet of the visitors.
They had all taken baths and only needed their feet to be washed to be clean.
One wonders why they could not even have done it for themselves. But no was
willing to lower themselves. The scripture say that Jesus washes their feet to
show the full extent of his love. Serving is an act of love, not of power, not
of pride, not of abasement, but purely of love -- love for others. We serve,
not to check off a square, but because we want to show our love to those we are
serving. Any other reason is selfishness and violates the very purpose of the
act. Jesus set the example and told the disciples to do as he had done. So, we
are to serve out of love. Not out of duty or some works-oriented abasement but
out of love for others. And in that attitude, there is a special blessing as
well to those who serve in that manner. The blessing is not the motivation, it
is the outgrowth of love-motivated serving. We are blessed because we serve
others in love. We do not serve others to be blessed.
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