Maundy Thursday – 13 April 2006St Paul Lutheran Church, ABQ NM – The Rev. P. L. Holman Ex. 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35 “Be as Christ” I’ve been studying feet these days. I’m probably more aware of them than usual because my daughters are convinced I need to get “strappy,” heeled sandals to go with my mother-of-the-bride outfit, and I just don’t do “strappy” very well. Give me Birkenstocks – better yet, let my feet be bare! I am also more aware of feet having spent three weeks in Madagascar last summer, where so many people don’t have the option of shoes… Feet really are an odd feature of our created existence. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, calloused and tender, toes straight and bent and every permutation in between, in boots or flip-flops, tattooed or with painted nails; chubby tender feet of a newborn, bruised and weathered feet of those well-worn. Holy Scriptures often mention feet, like the passage that inspired Handel’s Messiah solo: “How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of peace.” Then there are the feet of those whose Gospel message was not welcomed in town – we see in our mind’s eye the dust flying off them as they shake their sandals and move on to the next village. And then the woman with the jar of costly ointment, anointing the feet of Jesus as if for burial…and what she has done is told in memory of her. These are feet just like our feet. Servant feet – like those of medical workers who spend most of their shift on their feet, caring for patients and supporting their families; the feet of Visitation and Stephen Ministers walking with folks in crisis or bringing hope in the form of the Holy Meal to those whose feet can’t take them far any longer; the feet of preschoolers jumping with excitement having finished their playground break, spilling sand on the floor as they try to settle in for chapel or trek back to class; the feet of demonstrators white flags waving supporting immigration reform so the “we” of documented and undocumented immigrants can be treated fairly, with dignity… Feet walking with others and for others, serving to make a difference for the sake of healing, of justice, of peace. [Today] / [this night] we hear the words from scripture and remember the powerful servant ministry of Jesus nearly twenty centuries ago on this most holy night: “Knowing that the heavenly father had given all things into his hands,” John tells us, Jesus laid aside his garments, took a towel and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet. Christ washed the feet of those who’d traveled many miles with him, completing in a way the relationship that was already complete. Holding the feet as he bathed them, I imagine Jesus remembering and giving thanks for where these feet had been, and praying for them as he reflected on where their earthly journey will now take these women and men. I can almost hear Jesus singing “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the gospel of peace.” [Today] / [this night] we hear the words from scripture and remember the powerful servant ministry of Jesus on his last night. He moves from meal to basin, from feeding to washing, preparing his followers for a challenge they couldn’t begin to comprehend, preparing them to carry the Christ-light into all the dark places of the world. We move this day, from the cares of our daily lives to this place apart, in the presence of God and one another, to receive the ministry of those who wash, to be the servants willing to be washed, feet bared and vulnerable to the blessing of Christ present among us. Madelyn Herman Busse, assistant to Bishop Bjornberg, is a consecrated diaconal minister. The bowl and towel is the symbol of those called to the ministry of Word and Service. Ms. Busse focuses her devotion for this Maundy Thursday on the ritual of footwashing and its radical call to let go – to bare our feet, to be vulnerable in service one to another.
Each summer at the
Diaconal Ministry Formation Event, the footwashing service is a central
iconic piece. Six chairs are placed in the chancel. You wait your turn and
take whichever chair becomes available next. You never know who will
tenderly wash and dry your feet. After being washed, you step into the role
of the footwasher. I may be washed or find myself washing one I dearly love,
or I may meet the eyes of the one I find most annoying and unlikable. Before
I can serve, I must first allow myself to be vulnerable and served. She concludes with the first verse from the hymn we will soon sing:
“Will you let me be
your servant, When this day’s final liturgy ends, the altar will be bare, the candles gone, and silence deafening. The lights will be gone and the darkness very real … and very much filled with hope. For by the grace of God there are those, will always be those willing to serve and be served, those whose bare feet – literally and figuratively – bring the Christ-light, the gospel of peace. + + + INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN FOOTWASHING: On this [day] [night] we have heard our Lord’s commandment to love one another as he has loved us. We who receive God’s love in Jesus Christ are called to love one another, to be servants to each other as Jesus became our servant by living, suffering and dying for our sins, for the sins of the world. Our commitment to this loving service is signified in the washing of feet, following the example our Lord gave us on the night before his death. |