I have been reading through the Book of John and was stopped, once again, by the power of the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.
Here are the verses:
So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. This story, to me, is the ultimate in showing us how to serve others. It breaks down into three basic steps: feeling, thinking, & doing.
1. Feeling
There are two parts to the feeling step:
a. get up from the table
b. remove your robe. When we sit at a table we are focused on ourselves. The intent of a meal is to fill our own belly. Even when I am feeding the baby, filling my children's glasses with more milk, dishing up food onto other's plates, and doing all the things that moms do at the dinner table—my primary goal is to eat my own food. Sometimes that goal is so focused that I get upset with my children for interfering with it.
Sitting at the table, we are focused on our own needs and our own wants. That's what makes it so powerful. “Jesus got up from the supper table.” He left his own needs and wants. He decided to remove the focus from himself and put it somewhere else.
The next part of the Feeling step is to remove your robe. Jesus stripped down to what was essentially his underwear. If we are to serve others, we must become vunerable. We must open ourselves to the possibility that we may get hurt, we might feel pain. We must become vunerable to the ones whom we are called to serve.
2. Thinking
The thinking step has two parts:
a. put on an apron (other versions say towel instead of
apron.)
b. pour water into a basin.
The feeling step was essentially preparing yourself emotionally. The thinking step is preparing yourself physically. Jesus was going to wash something (feet) so he needed the right tools—water and something to dry with. To prepare yourself physically, you need to know what you're going to do and for whom you are going to do it. When Max was a toddler we would go to a local nursing home to visit the residents there. To prepare physically, I would make sure that Max was well-rested and that I had plenty of snacks in the diaper bag. (This was pretty much what I did whenever we went anywhere!) Max was the star of these visits—the nursing home residents just delighted in him. My job was to make sure he was most likely to be happy & fun for them.
There isn't anything very complicated or deep about the thinking step. But it is very necessary. Imagine dressing in your finest clothes...and then working at a homeless shelter. To be an effective servant you must think about who you are serving and what their needs are.
2. Doing The doing step has two parts: a. wash their feet b. dry their feet
This is where the rubber meets the road. This is the goal of serving others. You must deal with feet—dirty, smelly, yucky feet. The people you serve might not be excited to have you serving them. If you read further in the scripture you see that Peter gets angry with Jesus for washing his feet. He relents and lets Jesus wash his feet, but the initial reaction is a negative one. People often have the attitude that serving is rewarding. Others will be so happy that you have served them and you will have a warm, fuzzy feeling from it. That isn't always the case. Sometimes people are angry that they are in a place that requires others to serve them. Sometimes people are embarrased or unwilling to be served. (Think about how you would feel if someone else spoon-fed you your dinner. It would be akward & uncomfortable.) But, serving requires that we deal with others dirty, smelly, yucky situations and reactions. The second part of the doing step is drying the feet. This is finishing the job. If Jesus didn't dry the disciples’ feet, they would have gotten dirty again almost immediately. We have to finish the job. We have to leave the people we serve better off than when we arrived. I was at a women's bible study luncheon some time ago where part of the program was a hand washing. We didn't do feet because too many of us have issues with feet. (Tells a lot about us as a culture, no?) But, the hand washing was the most extraordinary thing for me. I was the last to get my hands washed. Wiletta Knepper washed and dried my hands. It was the most gentle touch I can remember feeling. The most startling thought was how un-gentle I am with my own children when I wash their hands. My family are the ones I serve daily. (day in and day out, day after day, on and on....) I get tired and sometimes resentful. It's so crazy. But, hopefully now, I will remember these three steps: feel, (this is the hardest step for me. I like me. I like serving me. It's easy and there is instant reward.) think, and then do. My prayer is that you, too, will remember and learn to serve with a gracious heart.
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