What Jesus did when he washed the feet of his disciples was to completely turn the feet-washing custom on its head. It's a powerful act and one that continues to astound us today. But why? In a time before modern transport, in ancient lands, it was customary to have your feet washed after a journey – the footwear and terrain made this a necessity. The task itself was demeaning and for this reason, the role of foot washer was usually reserved for the lowest servant.
Understanding the social context of the act is vital if we're to get to grips with the symbolism of the act described in John 13, and Peter's initial outburst and resistance to Jesus' offer. I can, as I'm sure you can too, identify with Peter's response. While as Christians we'd proclaim that just like the woman who anointed Jesus and wet his feet with her tears (Luke 7:38) we wouldn't hesitate to wash the feet of our Saviour, many of us may still struggle with the notion of him washing ours.
I've never had a pedicure, let alone taken part in the ritual of feet-washing, and the thought of having someone tend to my feet quite honestly feels me with dread. (And that's not because my feet are smelly or unsightly, I hasten to add.) It's the thought of someone physically lowering themselves to take care of me, getting on their knees to do so and attending to a body part which isn't ordinarily seen as glamorous in any way.
We don't object to a capable loved one styling our hair, painting our nails or giving us a massage, but when it comes to our feet it's a whole different story. All of the treatments above have a known power to make us feel good and in we think about Jesus' gesture in a similar way. Of course, accepting Jesus doesn't have the promise of external beauty, it's a lot deeper than that, but it does represent the promise of something spiritually beautiful – salvation.
After Jesus finished washing the feet of his disciples, he said to them: "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. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." (John 13:14-16)
Drawing inspiration from Jesus' example, Pope Francis was set to wash the feet of 12 refugees during a Maundy Thursday service in Rome. The ritual washing of the feet forms a part of services in Catholic churches throughout the world. However, don't fret if you've never washed anyone's feet. What Jesus did was a symbolic gesture, and his words reveal further the message that he wanted to convey to us. There are so many lessons that we can learn from this passage and they are by no means limited to the three explored below. Here are three things that this particular demonstration of love calls us to do.
To demonstrate kindness and love without boundaries
Jesus' gesture broke down the boundaries that surrounded feet-washing - and serving - and we can tell that this is something that he wanted his disciples to continue as he goes on to tell them that they should do for one another as he has done for them. Loving each other means that we sometimes have to get our hands dirty. Christ's gesture shows that no expression of love is beneath him and in doing so he tells us in more ways than one that it shouldn't be for us either. This powerful display of love calls for us to remove the boundaries that can dictate how we express love for each other.
To abandon our notions of societal hierarchy
The structures of hierarchy in our society and even in our relationships can lead us to believe that certain roles are not our responsibility. In this way, we can draw comparisons between our behaviour and that of the disciples before Jesus washed their feet. The act was custom yet none of the disciples had arranged for someone to wash their feet and Jesus'. Like the disciples, we can often avoid doing certain tasks because we think they'll be picked up by someone else. What we can take from Jesus' example is that we should share equally in showing kindness to each other and we shouldn't be under the impression that certain acts of kindness or service are reserved for particular sections of society.
To be humble in our service
When we consider that the act of feet-washing was usually reserved for the lowliest slave, we come to realise that what Jesus did is emblematic of serving others with humility. What we can learn from his example is that our acts of love should be devoid of pride.Some acts of love and kindness don't require us to put ourselves in a position of discomfort, but the one that Christ performs here signifies that sometimes discomfort is necessary in service. Arrogance is the antithesis of humility. Taking into account the fact that the task of washing someone's feet was extremely modest and required physically lowering yourself, we can see the act as symbolic of our need to exercise modesty and manage our perceptions of our own importance.
