30^th April 2014

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 13 April 2014

Lessons - Psalm 118:14-24; John 13:1-20

'... Jesus began to wash the disciples' feet ...' (John 13:5b)

On Palm and Passion Sunday we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in anticipation of the dramatic events about to unfold. As John tells it (12:12-16), these events, like the ministry that has gone before, signify the 'glorification of Jesus'. In other words, the glory of God is stunningly revealed in the incarnate, crucified and risen Christ, as the Nicene Creed puts it.

That does not mean that those around Jesus really 'see' who he is. For some the light dawns; others are still in the dark (12:20ff). This is highlighted in the moving account of Jesus washing the disciples' feet.
The glory of God in him is truly seen, not in acts of superior power (as one would expect of a Saviour) but in acts of humble, self-giving love.
Once more we are startled by the unexpected turn of events!

Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus upsets religious tradition by accepting the adoration and gratitude of a prostitute who bathed his feet with her tears as a sign of having been forgiven (Luke 7:36ff). Here, he upsets social custom. Instead of allowing those who are called to 'serve' him as 'Lord' to wash his feet, Jesus does what Roman slaves did for their masters and honoured guests. As the Word of God made flesh, he washes their feet!

This is too much for Peter. In typical fashion he protests, 'Lord, you shall never wash my feet (vv 6,8).' It is outrageous that you, who embody the glory of God, should do something so menial and servile. Like so many, Peter is blind to the paradox of the Gospel. As John puts it: he who 'had come from God' and 'was going to God' (v3b) displays the love of God for disciples (v1) in an act of deepest humility.

It is important to note that, when Peter questions what Jesus is doing, he is told that he will understand 'afterwards' (v7b). The true nature of Christ's 'humility' will be seen only after he has died and been raised again. Peter will realise in hindsight that Jesus is the Servant Lord who, in Paul's words, 'humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross' (Philippians 2:5ff).

What is remarkable in this incident is that the One who is truly God and truly human (Nicene Creed) washes the feet of seriously flawed and fallible people, like Peter and Judas. Neither of them deserves to be served in this way. But, remarkably, they are recipients of God's saving grace whose mission is to serve others as Christ has served them.

This is made clear when we realise that, in the foot-washing, John intends us to understand the meaning of baptism. When Peter realises, at least in part, what Jesus means by saying, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part of me (v8b),' he says, 'Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and head (v9).' Christ's washing of the feet of his wayward disciples symbolises baptism for the forgiveness of sin (Nicene Creed) which 'makes them clean all over' (v10).

When Judas - despite having his feet washed by Jesus - betrays him, we see that the invitation to grace is not dependent on it being accepted and that those who are closest to Jesus may totally reject the way of the Servant Lord. Evil is afoot, not only among militant atheists and religious fanatics who stomp on faith and human dignity, but among Christians!

Since early times, foot-washing ceremonies have been part of Christian worship, often with baptism, but mostly with Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday of Holy Week. This puts it in historical context - shortly before the Passover and Last Supper and in the shadow of the cross. It is a sign of grace stunningly displayed in the humble, costly and victorious love of Jesus Christ, God's only Son and our Lord. It is well symbolised in the Eastern Orthodox tradition of blessing the water with a cross!

The tradition of foot-washing ceremonies in Holy Week is best known today in the practice of Roman Catholic Popes. Dating from the latter part of the 12th Century, Popes have washed the feet of 12 priests on Maundy Thursday usually before the Mass. On one occasion, amid much controversy, John Paul II washed the feet of 12 homeless men. The current Pope, Francis I, caused uproar and delight in equal measure when he washed the feet of inmates from a Youth Detention Centre in Rome, including Muslims and women.

Whilst a departure from tradition, and not strictly reflecting Jesus washing the feet of his disciples (13:1-17), such acts faithfully express the meaning of this episode. As 'servants' of their Master and 'messengers' of the One who sent them (v16), they are to invite others into the fellowship of the Lord who 'humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross' (Philippians 2:5ff). And what a delight it is when the people to whom they go, welcome or 'receive' the Good News of God's self-giving love for the world (v20).

This 'touching' moment in Jesus' ministry is not meant to 'move' us emotionally, but to 'move' us to action.

* It is a striking example of how we should treat each other in the Christian community. It is not beneath our dignity to wash each other's feet
- no matter how dirty or smelly they may be! We do not exist to 'receive'
privileges or be 'honoured' for our piety and good works, but to 'serve'
each other whatever the need may be. In particular, we are to treat each other as equals before God, knowing that, in baptism, we have been 'made clean' by the Servant Lord who has 'touched' our feet of clay with his grace.

* It is also a stark warning that, like Peter, we may deny the Good News of God's humble, self-giving love in Christ and, like Judas, we may betray our baptism. We are often tempted to betray our calling either by seeking to be honoured by 'the community' or special interest groups or by denying our need for God's saving grace.

* And, thirdly, the 'new commandment to love one another as I have loved you' (13:31-35) is to be lived out so that everybody will know the One who called them together - the humble Son of God, who, 'for our sake and our salvation' was 'incarnate of the Virgin Mary' and 'became truly human'. As Jesus did in his ministry, so the Church's vocation includes 'washing the feet' of those whose lives have been sullied by their own or other people's actions - prisoners, drug addicts, prostitutes, white collar criminals, the homeless, abandoned children, the abused and disabled, refugees, ethnic minorities, the persecuted and others.

This 'touching' moment in Jesus' ministry is not meant to 'move' us emotionally, but to 'move' us to action.

He 'touched' the lives of his own disciples so deeply that, despite misunderstanding and betrayal, they were transformed by grace and invigorated, in words and deeds, to spread the message of God's costly self-giving love for all.

May we, too, be so 'moved' by this profound story of the Servant Lord.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is the minister of St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is a member of the Council of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.