Humble Hearts and Dirty Soles…
2/13/22 When you read or listen to scripture, do you ever find yourself thinking about what it must have been like to travel during the time that Jesus walked the Earth? After all, it is highly important that we understand the historical and cultural context that the Bible was written from, so that we have a clearer perspective on what God is trying to show us, right? Let’s consider how walking was the standard way to get around. With the amount of dirt roads and floors, that were shared with livestock, and the lack of fresh Nikes, I think it is safe to say that the feet of Jesus’ day were in no way pleasant. This brings us to one of the ultimate acts of Christian humility found in scripture, the washing of feet.
Let’s look at the story in Luke 7:36-50 when the woman washes Jesus’ feet. In this story, a sinful woman discovers Jesus’ location and goes to meet him. When she finds Him, she pours out perform onto His feet, and with her tears and her hair, she washes the feet of Jesus. The religious leaders saw this scene as Jesus being wrong for allowing this unclean woman to do this, but Jesus explained to them that out of everyone there it was the woman who truly recognized Jesus for who He was and was humble enough to embrace her position as His servant. He said that her actions “showed great love” because she recognized the grace that Jesus offered her in the forgiveness of her sins.
Let’s now look at John 13, when Jesus reverses the roles from the earlier interaction. It is now Jesus, who knew the power that God had given Him, knew He was about to be betrayed, washed the feet of His disciples.
“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
The woman from Luke 7 is a great example of humbling herself before Jesus as an act of gratitude for His mercy and grace. She recognized her position of need and expressed great love to the One who could redeem her. What Jesus does in John 13 is different. Jesus did not humble Himself to receive anything from His disciples. Jesus recognized His position of power, and yet expressed great love to His disciples (who at the time were powerless) as an example of the fullness of His redemption and blessing.
When Jesus is setting this example, He is showing us that the power structure of the Kingdom of God is not like the power structures of the world. When we are in need, we surrender to Jesus. When we have power, we surrender it for His purposes. When we see those who are in need, we again surrender ourselves, with the faith that the redemptive power of God’s love will not run out.
How can we humbly surrender our power to be expressed as the redemptive grace of Jesus? We do not grasp to maintain worldly status or privilege. We do not get tricked into the sinful lie of “scarcity.” Instead, we trust Jesus. We go low. We love our neighbors. We wash feet.
Let’s close with a brief example of this type of humble love, found in the biography of everyone’s favorite neighbor, Fred Rogers.
“Rogers knew that pools continued to refuse entry to Black people in 1969 and that racial tensions were rising. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated a year earlier. So, he sent a deliberate message on the May 9, 1969, episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. During the show, Rogers asked Officer Clemmons, a Black police officer played by François Clemmons, if he’d like to cool his feet with Rogers in a children’s wading pool. Clemmons initially declined the invitation, noting he didn’t have a towel — but Rogers said Clemmons could share his.
The actions in episode 1065 weren’t complex: two men took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their pants and then swished their feet together in a shallow pool on a hot day. But Rogers and Clemmons demonstrated that a Black man and a White one could peacefully share the water. When Clemmons had to go, he used Rogers’ towel to dry his feet, as promised. Rogers left the pool directly after Clemmons and proceeded to use the same towel.
In 1993, when Clemmons made a last appearance on the show, he and Rogers recreated the pool scene, during which Clemmons sang “Many Ways to Say I Love You.” But this time Clemmons didn’t just use Rogers’ towel — Rogers took the towel and dried Clemmons’ feet himself. Clemmons, who saw a connection to Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, found the act very moving. As he later said, “I am a Black, gay man and Fred washed my feet.””