March 28, 2013: Holy Thursday, Lord's Supper
One of my childhood memories is of my stubbornness; my family will agree that I haven’t outgrown that trait. After playing ball with friends outside, I would go into eat dinner. My mom would scold me first, to wash my hands and feet, but I always insisted that my hands were clean. The Korean dinner table that I remember was only a foot off the ground. We would sit Indian style and eat with chopsticks. Because it was a small 3 feet by 4 feet folding table, my mom and my dad who would sit next to me could plainly see it the bottom of my feet were not clean. They would fuss at me about how offensive it was for others to see my dirty feet. What is it about boys and men with their insistence that they don’t need to clean up?
In the Gospel, we find the disciples gathered in the Upper Room for the Passover meal, a very sacred religious ritual. The meal recalls the night the exiled Israelites were spared from the spirit of death that took the lives of first born male children in Egypt. It commemorates the decisive freedom that God delivered to the Israelites, his chosen people. If we place ourselves into the time these events took place, then hours from now Jesus will be in the Garden, he will be betrayed by a kiss from the one who called himself a friend and the guards will take him away. Then he will be shuttled between the religious authorities and Pontius Pilate and finally, he will meet his torturous and painful death. For now, at this moment in the Upper Room, Jesus has something he must tell his disciples, but instead of telling them, he shows them. He must prepare their hearts to be humble servants who are willing to accept the initiative of love of Jesus and imitate him.
Their feet are dirty; from their day-to-day living in the world, they are soiled with daily faults. The world encourages the disciples to look out for only himself--competition, selfishness, and self-gratification seem to be the values. And Jesus desires to wash them clean of this. While the disciples themselves are content having dirty feet, Jesus himself recognizes the need. So while they are eating, he gets up from the Passover table and begins to wash the disciples’ feet. At first, Peter protests. Jesus reminds him that without him allowing Jesus to wash him, he has no part in Jesus. Thus, Jesus teaches Peter a great lesson. That is, the first thing to do is to open our hearts to welcome the love of Jesus. It is Jesus who takes the first step toward us. It is his love that enables us, in turn, to love others.
Tonight we will wash the feet of men and women of various backgrounds. Some have experienced losses and suffered much. Some have dedicated themselves to serving others. Some are young, ready to begin their service for others. These are our friends and neighbors. Jesus showed us on the night of the Last Supper how to serve each other, to be instruments of Jesus’ peace. Where there is dirt of hatred, injury, discord, doubt, and despair, we wash them with love, forgiveness, faith, and hope. We are each asked to do this with humble self-knowledge; Jesus knows every bit of the dirt on our feet, yet he desires to wash our feet. Therefore, when we approach one another, we approach with reverence and respect, knowing that Jesus is the one who desires for us to be that hand that lovingly washes our neighbor’s feet.
In the Gospel, we find the disciples gathered in the Upper Room for the Passover meal, a very sacred religious ritual. The meal recalls the night the exiled Israelites were spared from the spirit of death that took the lives of first born male children in Egypt. It commemorates the decisive freedom that God delivered to the Israelites, his chosen people. If we place ourselves into the time these events took place, then hours from now Jesus will be in the Garden, he will be betrayed by a kiss from the one who called himself a friend and the guards will take him away. Then he will be shuttled between the religious authorities and Pontius Pilate and finally, he will meet his torturous and painful death. For now, at this moment in the Upper Room, Jesus has something he must tell his disciples, but instead of telling them, he shows them. He must prepare their hearts to be humble servants who are willing to accept the initiative of love of Jesus and imitate him.
Their feet are dirty; from their day-to-day living in the world, they are soiled with daily faults. The world encourages the disciples to look out for only himself--competition, selfishness, and self-gratification seem to be the values. And Jesus desires to wash them clean of this. While the disciples themselves are content having dirty feet, Jesus himself recognizes the need. So while they are eating, he gets up from the Passover table and begins to wash the disciples’ feet. At first, Peter protests. Jesus reminds him that without him allowing Jesus to wash him, he has no part in Jesus. Thus, Jesus teaches Peter a great lesson. That is, the first thing to do is to open our hearts to welcome the love of Jesus. It is Jesus who takes the first step toward us. It is his love that enables us, in turn, to love others.
Tonight we will wash the feet of men and women of various backgrounds. Some have experienced losses and suffered much. Some have dedicated themselves to serving others. Some are young, ready to begin their service for others. These are our friends and neighbors. Jesus showed us on the night of the Last Supper how to serve each other, to be instruments of Jesus’ peace. Where there is dirt of hatred, injury, discord, doubt, and despair, we wash them with love, forgiveness, faith, and hope. We are each asked to do this with humble self-knowledge; Jesus knows every bit of the dirt on our feet, yet he desires to wash our feet. Therefore, when we approach one another, we approach with reverence and respect, knowing that Jesus is the one who desires for us to be that hand that lovingly washes our neighbor’s feet.
