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Washing Feet

          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. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
         Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
                “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
             Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
              “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
         Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
         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. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.  Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:5-17)

          People make a big deal about washing feet. It’s as if what Jesus was talking about when He told us to wash one another’s feet was pedicures. I think He had something more in mind. Another story comes to mind.
                    After Booker T. Washington took charge of the Tuskegee Institute in          
          Alabama, he was walking in town when he was stopped by a wealthy, white   
         woman. She asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for   
         her.
                    As he had no pressing business on hand, Professor Washington smiled
          and proceeded to do the humble chore. Recognizing him, a servant girl revealed
          to her mistress his true identity.
                    The next morning the embarrassed woman went to his office and   
          apologized profusely, saying, “I didn’t know it was you I put to work.”
                    “It’s perfectly all right, Madam,” the renowned black educator replied.   
          “Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it’s always a delight to do
           something for a friend.”
          Not long afterwards she showed her admiration by persuading her wealthy acquaintances to join her in giving thousands of dollars.—H.G. Bosch[1]
            A third story comes to mind in which a woman spoke of being humiliated and mistreated because she was asked to take something off a shelf for someone. Jesus was willing to do the work reserved to the lowest slave. In fact, He insisted that turning the focus to serving Peter was necessary. Washington Irving turned the focus to serving someone else, and called her a friend even though she had assumed he was a vagrant. Neither of them let something about themselves get in the way of the delight of doing something for a friend – even friends who didn’t realize they were friends yet. These are the models I need to follow, not the modern woman for whom handing someone a box is beneath her dignity.


[1] [Encylopedia of 15,000 Illustrations, by Paul Lee Tan, Communications, Inc., Dallas, TX, 1998]

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