Maundy Thursday – April 1, 2010
John 13:1 – 15
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
Jesus answered, "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
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."
All of Jesus’ actions, both on this night and through the last days of his life, were framed by these words: “Jesus knew that he had come from God and was returning to God.”
In other words, Jesus knew who he was. He knew his identity. He knew that he had emerged from the heart of God and was returning to the heart of God. He knew his origins and his destiny, the Source of his being and the Goal of his being.
He didn’t have to worry about what people thought of him. He didn’t wring his hands over how others estimated him. He was free to do what he needed to do because he was free to be fully the person God sent him to be.
In the immediate context of this passage, he was free to take off his outer clothing, wrap a towel around his waist, and stoop to wash the dusty feet of his disciples. It was an unheard-of act for a rabbi or teacher to stoop in that way, yet Jesus was free from social expectations and relationship norms. He was not bound by what others thought he should do. As he said in another place, he only acted and said what he first heard the Father do and say, so he was free of the obligations others placed upon him.
If we looked honestly at our days, most of us would be quite surprised by how much of our existence is driven by obligation and demand. We live in the continual expectations that others have of us and of our roles. We live out of so many roles that comes with oughts and shoulds that we can easily lose sight of “where we have come from” and “where we are going.” We can lose touch with our core, our basic identity.
The many hats we wear are not bad, but we live oblivious to their pull upon us. They fail to see how hard they drive us, how the role becomes larger than the soul-truth that our lives carry.
Jesus lives fully into his God-given identity, so he is able to enter fully into Holy Week without backing down. He washes feet, he is publicly humiliated, he is lashed with a whip, he is crucified. But he is also free to enter into these situations because he knows who he is with God. That isn’t up for debate with him. So he acts with courage and with inner freedom.
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
Jesus answered, "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
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."
All of Jesus’ actions, both on this night and through the last days of his life, were framed by these words: “Jesus knew that he had come from God and was returning to God.”
In other words, Jesus knew who he was. He knew his identity. He knew that he had emerged from the heart of God and was returning to the heart of God. He knew his origins and his destiny, the Source of his being and the Goal of his being.
He didn’t have to worry about what people thought of him. He didn’t wring his hands over how others estimated him. He was free to do what he needed to do because he was free to be fully the person God sent him to be.
In the immediate context of this passage, he was free to take off his outer clothing, wrap a towel around his waist, and stoop to wash the dusty feet of his disciples. It was an unheard-of act for a rabbi or teacher to stoop in that way, yet Jesus was free from social expectations and relationship norms. He was not bound by what others thought he should do. As he said in another place, he only acted and said what he first heard the Father do and say, so he was free of the obligations others placed upon him.
If we looked honestly at our days, most of us would be quite surprised by how much of our existence is driven by obligation and demand. We live in the continual expectations that others have of us and of our roles. We live out of so many roles that comes with oughts and shoulds that we can easily lose sight of “where we have come from” and “where we are going.” We can lose touch with our core, our basic identity.
The many hats we wear are not bad, but we live oblivious to their pull upon us. They fail to see how hard they drive us, how the role becomes larger than the soul-truth that our lives carry.
Jesus lives fully into his God-given identity, so he is able to enter fully into Holy Week without backing down. He washes feet, he is publicly humiliated, he is lashed with a whip, he is crucified. But he is also free to enter into these situations because he knows who he is with God. That isn’t up for debate with him. So he acts with courage and with inner freedom.
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