Jesus Washing The Feet of the Disciples

"Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("I give you a new commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you") (John 13:34)

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."
— John 13:14–17 
For the past week I have been thinking about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.  I got started thinking about this in a conversation I had with my friend Jac about the book of John about the seven gates Jesus must go through: 

• Jesus washes the feet of the disciples
• Jesus is whipped by the soldiers
• Jesus receives a crown of thorns and is humiliated
• Jesus carries the cross to Golgotha
• Jesus dies on the cross
• the body of Jesus is put in the grave
• Christ resurrects

In ancient times when the footwear was mostly sandals, washing feet was a sign of welcome, but also a sign of respect and humility.  As Quakers, we don't wash feet, but we do have a strong tradition of service.  And as I contemplated this verse a few things came to me.

When we do an act of service, it is an opportunity to acknowledge that of God in the other.  It may also be an opportunity to get connected to that of God in ourselves. I can't think of any other time in human history when people look more at screens than each other.   This is important because the more time we spend in screens, I think, the more we get disconnected from Source.  The more angry, distracted, and upset we get by the fear mongers. 

When I took a deeper look, centering down on this image of Christ washing the feet of the disciples, another thought came to me besides service and humility.  That thought was equality.  The servant and the master are equals.  When I consider the damage this image does to the hierarchical system it pleases me. Domination is a huge theme among humans.  We feed on it, we honor it, and our political system is organized around it. It is a parasite that is destroying society and the planet.  

If we can approach each other with honor, humility, and equality through acts of service then just maybe this is a way to bring the divine into daily life.  No amount of looking at screens can accomplish that. 

Queries I am contemplating now: 

• Where can I perform little acts of service? 
• How can I meet my fellow humans and the God in them through these acts? 
• Is there a quid pro quo for an act of service?  (and if I expect that what does it say about me?) 
• How can I live humble and equal with the other? (and the corollary -- what do I have to give up to do that?) 

Joseph Olejak 

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