Sunday, 11 February 2024

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”– John 13:9

Today's Scripture Reading (February 11, 2024): John 13

I have to admit that there are many times in the Gospels where I really do think I understand Peter. This is good news for me because if Jesus can value Peter, then maybe he really can value me. Often my mouth is in full gear while my brain is still in neutral, and so was Peter's. I have great aspirations, as did Peter, but sometimes my behavior lags behind. I am also convinced that we both suffer from ugly feet syndrome.

Let me explain. A few years ago, there was a rumor that the ministerial meeting I attended would include a foot washing. Foot washing often gets raised as a great idea at Christian gatherings, especially around Easter. Some Churches gather on Maundy Thursday evening, the evening before Good Friday, celebrating communion and washing each other's feet. I have no problem with the practice of communion; when the band used to practice on Thursday nights, we would often share the Lord's Supper after our practice on Maundy Thursday. But we never washed each other's feet. I am convinced that those who like the idea of foot washing are gifted with Beautiful Feet Syndrome, but I don't; I think Peter and I suffer from Ugly Feet Syndrome.

The news of the foot-washing meeting reached my ears, and I immediately decided that it was a ministerial meeting I would skip. You see, I have a problem with my feet. I am sure that all of you have beautiful feet. My wife has beautiful feet, but I don't. I have eczema on several areas of my body, and one of them is my feet. Eczema causes my feet to be thick and deeply cracked. A separate problem is that my toenails are also thick and very hard to cut, so they are often ragged and ugly rather than being neatly trimmed. I know I have ugly feet.

About a week after the rumor of foot washing at the ministerial meeting hit my ears, a rather official-looking email arrived in my inbox assuring the pastors in the area that there would be no foot washing at the next ministerial meeting. Apparently, there had been an unofficial vote, and those with Ugly Feet Syndrome trumped those with Beautiful Feet Syndrome.

Jesus begins to wash the disciples' feet. There is no doubt that this is an act of love. Mary had just poured out the perfume on his feet as an act of love, and now he was washing his disciples' feet. The problem was that washing feet was a servant's job, below his rank or station. But if a servant wasn't present, then the task would fall to the one who held the lowest position in the room. The disciples had argued several times about who was the greatest, but apparently, who was the least had never come up. And so, no one picked up the water and washed the feet of the others in the room. And so, Jesus picked up the task and began washing his student's feet. While all the disciples could probably point at someone who could have washed their feet, none would have pointed at Jesus. It wasn't his job.

But because Jesus was secure in who he was, he had no problem rising from the table and picking up the towel. However, while Jesus was comfortable with the task, it was a profoundly uncomfortable moment for the disciples. But no one protested Jesus washing their feet until Peter. It was customary in that era that if you were invited to a special dinner, and this was a special dinner, then you would take a bath before you arrived. As a result, it seems likely that all the disciples were clean. But they also wore sandals on dusty roads. So, there was no way to keep their feet clean. While they were clean everywhere else, their feet were dirty.

Jesus makes use of the analogy from a spiritual standpoint. We have all been bathed, so we are clean, but we walk on dusty roads, so our feet still require attention. It was another "Do you love me" moment for Peter. Only this time, instead of "feed my sheep," it is "If you love me, let me wash your feet."

When it comes to our spirituality, we all suffer from ugly feet syndrome. There are ways we still feel that we don't measure up. And Jesus comes to us with an invitation. Let me wash your feet. Let me take care of the personal sin you don't want me to know about. Let me do it because I love you and because you love and trust me.

But the unfortunate reality is that we don't believe in unconditional love in our relationships because we so seldom find it. The response I get most often when I tell someone I love them is that I can't love them because I don't know them; I haven't seen their ugly feet, and they haven't seen mine. But the reality is that that is not true. I love you because God loves you. We all have ugly feet and places where we would prefer that no one else would see. And God loves us anyway.

Jesus knelt before Peter and said with his actions, Peter, I love you. I don't care what your feet might look like. I love you. We need to speak those words to each other until we begin to believe them. I love you, not because you have beautiful feet, but because God loves you and lives in me. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: John 14

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