Have you ever washed someone’s feet?

John 13:3-5 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with whichHe was girded.”
 
 
It was about a decade ago that I went on a mission trip with a bunch of youth from La Crescent. It was one of my first mission trips where I was the leader. We went down to North Carolina, did a ton of hard work, and had a bunch of Godly fun in the process.
The highlight of that trip, though, came on the last night we were together down there. We leaders took the kids into a decently sized room, dimmed the lights, got out basins of water, and began to wash their feet just as Jesus did at the Last Supper.
Have you ever washed someone’s feet before? It is a humbling experience. The person who is getting their feet washed sits in a chair, while you kneel down on the ground. Feet are dirty, so while their feet are being washed, you get dirty. Feet are something we generally don’t want to touch, but in order to wash them you have to touch the person’s feet.
When you are in such a situation, you learn a little about yourself, and you get a better idea of how God willingly humbled Himself so that we might be saved from our sins.
After us adults had washed a few feet, we gave the youth the option to do the same for each other, and something remarkable happened. In our youth group we had two siblings, an older brother and a younger sister, who were different in many ways.
The older brother was the very definition of intellectual. Hyper intelligent, but a bit socially awkward, he didn’t fit in with the popular crowd. His interests were advanced calculus and high-level politics, not the usual high school fare.
His sister on the other hand, while not as intellectually focused, was a social butterfly. She got along with everyone, was pretty, and had tons of friends. They obviously were quite different, and thus didn’t always see eye to eye.
Out of all the people who could have, she volunteered to wash her older brother’s feet. As she got down and began washing his toes, they both began to cry. Something broke inside both of them, and a dam of emotions and a whole childhood of walls that they had put up were smashed.
She told him how she loved her older brother, how she needed him and looked up to him, and he told her how proud he was of her, and how she was such a blessing to have as a sister. Just thinking back to that moment, I too still cry. Beloved, there is healing in humility.
When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, He told them to go and do likewise. It wasn’t about having clean feet, it was about having a clean heart. Willingly being humble and serving one another opens so many doors, breaks down so many barriers, and heals so many hearts.
With the season of Lent starting in just a week, it is good for us to remember the humility and love Jesus showed us. He didn’t have to die for our sins, He chose to, so that we might live. It is also good for us to remember that a little humility, a little foot-washing, has the potential to break down many of those barriers and walls put up in our lives.
It is hard to be humble, but by doing so, we may change everything. Beloved, be the humble one who apologizes first. Be the humble one who tries to reconnect after a bad argument. Be the humble one who forgives, who doesn’t hold the grudge.
If you wish to go and do likewise as Jesus commanded, you may or may not find yourself washing someone else’s feet… but you will definitely find yourself humbly loving one another.
Blessings, and have a wonderful Lenten Season,
-Pastor Jake