Washing Feet
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Field Notes
Washing Feet
By Michael E. Brooks
"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed
your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s
feet" (John 13:14).
Do you laugh sometimes at the old-fashioned
"fundamentalist" beliefs of some? We wonder at the
simplistic interpretations of scripture that
result in worship practices like foot-washing and
the like. But does it ever occur to us that
sometimes in rejecting these things as items of
worship we go too far and forget the impact of the
original teaching?
Have you ever had someone wash your feet for you
in circumstances where, first, they needed it
badly, and, second, you could not do it yourself?
I had that happen last week on a visit to some
river-side villages in Bangladesh. We arrived by
boat (there are no roads into these villages; the
only way in is by river or canal) at low tide and
had to run the boat into the mud bank several feet
below the high water mark. That meant we took our
shoes and socks off, climbed out of the boat, and
waded mud for thirty feet or more up to the dry
bank of the river. A lot of that black, sticky mud
accompanied us, caked on our feet and legs. As we
stood on one foot beside a pool of water a
villager washed the other, dried it on his own
towel, and put sock and shoe back on. Then he gave
the same treatment to the other foot.
In the debate over whether modern churches should
hold foot-washing ceremonies in their worship, we
forget the real point of what Jesus taught in John
13. Be a servant. Do for each other whatever
mundane, humble act of kindness circumstance
requires. If your brother's feet are dirty, wash
them. If some other need is found, meet it. None
of us is too good, or too important to be a
servant to others.
Jesus' words are far too simple and powerful to be
misunderstood. If he, our master and lord, can
humble himself to serve us, who are we to refuse
help to anyone else? The very definition of
Christian is servant! We are to seek out those who
need help, and give them that help. Pride,
arrogance, and selfishness are totally out of
place in his kingdom.
I was privileged to be reminded once again how
humble and helpful a true Christian can be, and
how welcome such simple acts of kindness are. May
we all follow the example of our Lord, and serve
others.
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