Jesus washed the feet of a man He knew was going to betray Him. He didn’t just wash the feet of those who were most likely to understand or respond well. He wasn’t calculating the odds of a favourable response. He washed the feet of Judas because Judas was there, and his feet needed washing.
All too often nowadays, churches forget (or ignore) the people right in front of them. They’re frequently content to serve themselves. They attract a certain group of people and cater to their demands out of fear that those people might leave. They allow themselves to be held hostage by insiders and never venture outside the walls of their building to serve the people around them who are in desperate need.
Service in churches has become a means to an end. When they serve, what they’re really seeking is church growth — and if they can’t get that, they’ll settle for self-preservation. Service is a means to boost (or at least maintain) attendance figures. Service, in many churches, is a path to greatness. Maybe some day they’ll be a megachurch (or at least they won’t die as fast as that church down the road).
But in the kingdom of God, where Christ is the Head of the Church, service is not the path to greatness, it is greatness. Service is the only true greatness the kingdom of God has to offer.
Jesus says, “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” (Jn 13.14-15). Now, there are those who misguidedly wish to make a church ordinance of this, and they have mandatory foot-washing services. We shake our heads at them and say, “My, they sure have missed the point!”
It isn’t a church ceremony Jesus was hoping to institute here, it’s an attitude to learn and live. It’s not something for us to sit back and ponder, it’s something for us to figure out how to put into practice. Jesus’ ministry of the towel is to be the Church’s ministry of the towel.
This parable Jesus acted out Himself is about humility and an attitude of service. It’s a warning that we must constantly rethink why we do the things we do. Are we serving others to gain their approval and honour and applause? Are we washing their feet in the hope that they will repay us with their faithful attendance and regular financial contributions? If so, we’re missing the mark, sinning against the One who calls us to service.
We must be willing to identify with Jesus in the very act of humility and service. Otherwise, whatever it is we are involved with is not the kingdom of God. Jesus says, “What you’ve just seen Me do for you, go and do for others.”
Prayer
Lord God, just as Your beloved Son served us, I want to do the same for others. The more I grasp my new identity and dignity in Christ, the more free I become to serve others even when they do not reciprocate, and the less I am in the bondage of being defined by people’s opinions and expectations. As I let You (and not people) define me, I am liberated to serve them, because I know who I am in Christ and have nothing to prove. May I grow in my spiritual apprehension of my identity in Christ, and may I invite the empowerment of Your Holy Spirit to make it possible to be truly other-centred. Teach me to develop a vision for what You are doing in the lives of others, and give me joy in helping them mature and reach their potential.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment