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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