Washing Each Other's Feet on Maundy Thursday

As Jesus sat down for a final meal with his friends,

• He knew a friend would betray him;

• He knew his friends would fall asleep during his hour of need;

• He knew his friends would abandon him during his darkest hour.

• Jesus knew he was heading toward his death - A death on the cross.

But Jesus uses his final meal with his friends to wash their feet…

As the meal ended - Jesus got up, and poured water into the basin and began to wash the feet of his friends, and He said,

“Now that I have washed your feet, you should wash one another’s feet. Truly, no servant is greater than his master and no messenger is greater than the one who sent him.”

This story lifts up our call to work for justice in our community, to challenge power, and to do so with humility. Jesus loves the Disciples. No matter who they are, or what they do – Jesus wants them to know his love for them. Today, people are struggling with hunger in the United States; refugees are running for their lives. No matter race, creed, nationality, or other status, we are called to wash one another’s feet because we are community.

Jesus also challenges the traditional notions of power with this prophetic act of radical hospitality. Jesus is teacher and rabbi, but still lowers himself to a position of servant. Jesus is calling on those in leadership to serve in difficult, messy, and stinky situations. Leaders are called to wash the feet of those whom they lead.

By bending in front of another, Jesus also humbles himself before his neighbor and before God. We have all been sent by God to show love in this world and to proclaim justice. But we are not greater than the one who sent us. We must humble ourselves before one another as we wash their feet.

As advocates, organizers, and prophets we live in turbulent times. We see people suffering and abandoned. Injustice plagues our world. However, these days of Holy Week teach us something important. No matter how bleak it seems, even as Christ is hoisted on the cross and breathes his last – we must remember that Sunday is coming! That means the hungry will be fed, the lonely will be comforted, and the captives will go free. Sunday is coming.

Nick Bates, a Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is the Director of the Hunger Network in Ohio, a statewide faith-based organization that addresses the root causes of hunger through advocacy.