I remember attending my first Maundy Thursday service eight years ago. Two things stand out in my memory: the smell of feet, and how uncomfortable it was to wash the feet of a stranger!
Today is Maundy Thursday, a name that comes from the Latin “mandatum novum do vobis,” words Jesus spoke to His apostles as they celebrated the Last Supper: “A new command [mandate] I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). This “new mandate” comes immediately after Jesus washed the feet of His apostles.
As uncomfortable as my first Maundy Thursday foot-washing experience was, it was nothing compared to what I experienced last summer as a friend and I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Three days into the journey, I found myself in the common room of our hostel, doing my best to take care of my already-blistered-and-bloody feet and trying not to cry as I lost my first toenail. I looked over and saw a fellow pilgrim from South Korea break down completely from her own battered feet. Within moments, our Spanish host had grabbed his first aid kit, and was expertly and tenderly sewing up her blisters and bandaging her wounds.
This became our rhythm every day. Every morning, we would prepare our feet for the day with Vaseline, toe socks, blister bandages, and special boot-lacing techniques. Yet every night, our feet looked like they had been through war: blood, blisters, open sores, dirt, sand, you name it. Our feet were disgusting and each night we helped each other care for them.
I’ll never read a passage about foot-washing the same way after that experience. Jesus and His disciples wore sandals and walked everywhere. Their feet were more like our filthy Camino feet than the feet I washed at the Maundy Thursday service—no wonder this was a task reserved for servants. And yet, Jesus washed their feet, maybe even tending to blisters and wounds like our kind Spanish hosts! This is our new mandate… to love each other and care for each other even when it’s messy, uncomfortable, smelly, or difficult. “Who is greater? The one at the table, or the one who serves?”
For Reflection:
- Participate in tonight’s Maundy Thursday foot washing service at Eastbrook, or practice foot-washing at home with your family tonight.
- View artist @saltandgoldcollection‘s foot-washing series on Instagram in light of this passage from Luke.
by Liz Carver
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