Maundy Thursday

Scripture

John 13

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Reflection

What's a Maundy gotta do with Thursday? The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin "mandatum," meaning "commandment," referring to Jesus's commandment to "love one another." Now that we've got that out of our way...

The reading for this Maundy Thursday begins with a meal. Jesus is at the table with his disciples, all of them reclining, propped up on their elbows, dipping pita bread into savory hummus and smacking their lips, licking their fingers. The sounds of conversation fill the room, imagine loud laughter or the clink of one cup against another. 

Oil lamps flicker, their light reflected in the shining eyes of the disciples, and while all of this is going on Jesus gets up from the table, strips off his outer robe, wraps a towel around his waist, pours water into a basin, and begins to wash the disciples' feet.

It would not be unusual if he were one of the household servants; the disciples have probably had their feet washed before. However, this is their teacher, their Lord! 

As he moves from one to another, they fall silent, until all you can hear is the splash of water being poured into the basin over dusty, callused feet. 

Peter objects, but Jesus persists.  In the end Jesus puts his robe back on to join them at the table. "Do you know what I have done to you?" he asks. Apparently not. No one says a word. "I have set you an example," Jesus says. "If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."

On one level this action is symbolic, Jesus removes the outer robe of his glory, wraps around himself a towel of human flesh, suffers and dies for the sake of the world, reclothes himself with glory, and resumes his rightful place with the Creator. 

But on another level, the disciples need to have their feet washed. No one else has volunteered to do it. Perhaps, as in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke), they have been arguing about which one of them is the greatest, and for any one of them to volunteer would be to lose the argument. 

So Jesus gets up to do it-- shocking them all by his disregard for social and cultural convention.

As Peter implies by his objection, foot washing is slave labor. 

However, when Jesus has finished he says: "If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."

This is a good reminder for a church who still struggles with power, who argues over who is the greatest. When we are not here to lord over one another, but to live as the lord to one another- we are to wash one another's feet!

Doing such a thing sounds awkward, sounds clumsy, embarrassing. Maybe. Maybe it only seems that way because we are out of practice. Out of practice of small humble acts of service Christians can offer on a daily basis. 

There's a common thread here that I find quite powerful in its simplicity and humility:

"If I have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."

"If I have laid down my life for you, you also ought to lay down your lives for each other." 

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another."

"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Questions for Reflection

• Beyond the literal act, how do you see Jesus's "washing of feet" principle manifesting in contemporary acts of service and addressing the "dusty, calloused feet" of our society?

  
  

• How does Jesus's foot washing challenge our modern understanding of leadership and power, and where do we still see struggles with these concepts in our communities?

  
  

• Why do humble acts of service sometimes feel awkward or embarrassing, and what practical steps can we take to cultivate a consistent practice of serving others?

  
  

• How can we translate the concept of "laying down one's life" for others into our everyday interactions and relationships, beyond dramatic acts of sacrifice?