Love One Another, Serve One Another
a Holy Thursday Homily based on John 13:1-17, 31b-35
with a suggested "hand-washing" rather than "foot-washing" ceremony
by Rev. Randy Quinn

I don’t remember when it was exactly. Before that day, I thought “Maundy Thursday” was about “mourning” the death of Jesus. I don’t know what I thought it meant exactly, but I guess I perceived it as a sort of “wake” for the dying Jesus that was re-enacted every year.

And based on the questions you’ve asked, I know that my own puzzlement is not unique. So let me set the record straight.

“Maundy” comes from the Latin phrase, mandatum novum, or in English, “a new commandment.” It’s “Mandate” Thursday.

In each of the Gospels, we read about Jesus gathering with his Disciples for the Last Supper. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the focus of that setting is on the food – the bread and the wine that is taken and given new meaning by Jesus. In almost every church we remember that act when we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion – often referred to as “the Lord’s Supper,” sometimes referred to as “the Eucharist.”

In John’s Gospel, the focus is not on the food. The focus is on the parting words and actions of Jesus, words and deeds that point us toward servanthood. The primary action of that night – according to John – was not the breaking of bread but the washing of feet.

There are churches where foot washing is considered a sacrament as much as baptism and communion are. And there are churches that only celebrate communion in the context of washing feet.

In our church, I know this is not a common practice. And, in fact, some people have even frowned on the concept. (For those who might be worried about it, rest assured, I have something else in mind for tonight.)

Some years ago I was talking about foot washing with someone. I honestly don’t remember who it was or when it was. I remember having one of those “light bulb” moments when I saw something I’d never seen before – or I heard something I’d never heard before (for those who are not as visual as I am).

As we were discussing foot washing, I realized that Peter’s embarrassment may not have been any different than our own embarrassment about foot washing.

Maybe he was thinking, “Don’t do that, I’m ticklish.”

Maybe he was thinking, “My feet are too ugly, don’t even look at them.”

Maybe he was thinking, “I just washed them, you don’t need to do that.”

We really don’t know what he was thinking. We do know he said, “You shall never wash my feet” (Jn 13:8).

I used to think it was because foot washing was something that servants did. I’ve heard it said time and time again, that this was a cultural practice – to wash your feet when you came in from the dusty roads. And while that picture makes sense, I began to wonder if that was really true. In a desert culture, water is used more sparingly than in our water-rich society. Would they really have used water that way?

When I was serving with the Marines, I spent some time in the desert. And I spent time hiking with a full backpack. We learned to take care of our feet while we were hiking and we learned to drink water while we were in the desert. But I don’t remember being overly concerned with keeping our feet wet. In fact, we were trying to keep them dry. And while the boots we wore were different than the sandals that were more commonly worn by the Disciples, I have a hard time believing that having your feet washed by someone else was any more common then than it is now.

Only the rich would have been able to afford to pay someone to wash their feet. For Jesus to stoop down and wash their feet was more than humbling.

And that really is the point. Jesus is saying we must learn to stoop down and serve people as if we were their slaves.

He enacted it in a literal sense, but I suspect he had the metaphorical sense in mind as well.

He was talking about helping a mother with young children as she struggles to get her groceries into her car.

He was talking about spending time with a lonely widow in the nursing home.

He was talking about stopping our car on a busy street to let a young child cross in safety.

Certainly you’ve done some of those things before. I’ve seen you do it. It’s part of the mission-orientation of this congregation.

I’ve seen it in the after school programs and the Geriatric Center worship services.

I’ve seen it in the phone calls and cards to those who are sick and shut in.

And I know there are numerous times when neither I nor many of you have seen it as you care for one another – both within the church and within the community. In many, many ways, we have been washing their feet. Perhaps you can think of a place where you have been served by someone in our church. A warm smile. A friendly hug. A much needed ear when you had to talk.

Certainly each of us has experienced the love of Christ through the words, deeds, and thoughts of others in our congregation.

And you can probably remember other times when you were the caregiver. When you were the one who visited someone in the hospital or nursing home. When you were the one who saw the newcomer and introduced them to other members of our church family.

In each of these acts, you have washed someone's feet or allowed someone to wash yours. And we enjoyed the experience.

Sometimes, however, it's difficult to love. Sometimes it's difficult to serve. Sometimes we turn away from an opportunity to express our concern in a concrete manner.

I think of the disciples at the table that night, and I wonder what it was like to watch Jesus get down on his knees and take the role of the servant who washed their feet.

How demeaning.

How awkward.

How demanding.

Sometimes loving one another means being bold. Sometimes it means swallowing our pride and doing what God has called us to do. There are other feet to be washed in our church, in our community.

Jesus set the standard. He washed all 24 of their feet, even those of Judas who was on his way out to report Jesus to the authorities.

If he can do that, how can we refuse to wash the feet of another child of God?

We simply cannot.

Ours is a new commandment, the commandment to love and to serve one another with the love of Christ. It begins with the washing of each other's feet; it ends with a meal shared among peers, fellow servants.

Tonight I will invite you to be servants of one another as we wash our hands rather than our feet. The act of washing hands was ritualized in some Jewish circles and still has a place in the celebration of mass in some Roman Catholic Churches.

We will allow others to serve us; we will serve others. We will all be servants tonight so that when we come to the table we will come as peers, as fellow partners in ministry.

In doing so, we will remember Jesus who gave us this new commandment, this mandatum novum. Serve one another. Love one another.

Amen.