Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Scripture: John 13, selected verses
And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, [a] took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
Devotion:
Today, I had the privilege of helping to give my Mimi, my grandmother, what will likely be the last sponge bath of her life. My mom and I washed and dried her hair, washed her limbs and massaged good lotion on her arms and legs. It is a uniquely physical task in a time that feels surreal, ethereal, and mysterious, as the curtain between this life and the next is drawn near. As I watched my hands wipe her brow and massage her calf muscles, I was struck by this image in Holy Week, as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus kneels as a servant before his disciples and performs this wholly physical task of sloughing the dirt off their toes, of massaging their calf muscles, of wiping the water dripping from their heels, during the last hours of his own life, in the time when earth and heaven meet in an unforeseen kiss.
And his command is simple: do this for one another. Be willing to have soapy hands and dirty bath water, be prepared to massage the knots out of one another’s calf muscles. Have the courage to offer the soothing caress your neighbor needs. In the time in our lives when we were helpless, immobile, unable to do anything for ourselves, Jesus holds us, strokes our hair, and offers to wash our feet. This week, Jesus calls us again to have the willingness to take on this menial task, this humble chore, to gently and compassionately provide a hand to our neighbor.
As I used the wash cloth to wipe my Mimi’s brow, I kept thinking to myself that giving this bath is the greatest privilege of my life. I can’t help but think that as Jesus knelt in the upper room and washed his disciples’ feet, he too considered that task to be the greatest privilege of his life. I wonder how it might change our discipleship if we saw the command to love one another as the greatest privilege of our lives, rather than a chore we must complete or a rule we begrudgingly follow. Perhaps loving our neighbor with love is more valuable than we could ever realize.
As we journey through Holy Week, I am grateful for your prayers for my family, and I look forward to this journey to the cross and the resurrection with you, the family of God at Cross Roads, for whom I am so grateful.
Pastor Lindsay
And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, [a] took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
Devotion:
Today, I had the privilege of helping to give my Mimi, my grandmother, what will likely be the last sponge bath of her life. My mom and I washed and dried her hair, washed her limbs and massaged good lotion on her arms and legs. It is a uniquely physical task in a time that feels surreal, ethereal, and mysterious, as the curtain between this life and the next is drawn near. As I watched my hands wipe her brow and massage her calf muscles, I was struck by this image in Holy Week, as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus kneels as a servant before his disciples and performs this wholly physical task of sloughing the dirt off their toes, of massaging their calf muscles, of wiping the water dripping from their heels, during the last hours of his own life, in the time when earth and heaven meet in an unforeseen kiss.
And his command is simple: do this for one another. Be willing to have soapy hands and dirty bath water, be prepared to massage the knots out of one another’s calf muscles. Have the courage to offer the soothing caress your neighbor needs. In the time in our lives when we were helpless, immobile, unable to do anything for ourselves, Jesus holds us, strokes our hair, and offers to wash our feet. This week, Jesus calls us again to have the willingness to take on this menial task, this humble chore, to gently and compassionately provide a hand to our neighbor.
As I used the wash cloth to wipe my Mimi’s brow, I kept thinking to myself that giving this bath is the greatest privilege of my life. I can’t help but think that as Jesus knelt in the upper room and washed his disciples’ feet, he too considered that task to be the greatest privilege of his life. I wonder how it might change our discipleship if we saw the command to love one another as the greatest privilege of our lives, rather than a chore we must complete or a rule we begrudgingly follow. Perhaps loving our neighbor with love is more valuable than we could ever realize.
As we journey through Holy Week, I am grateful for your prayers for my family, and I look forward to this journey to the cross and the resurrection with you, the family of God at Cross Roads, for whom I am so grateful.
Pastor Lindsay