The book of John is a swinging pendulum. From up ("In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God") to down ("He came to his people but his own did not receive him"). Now it's time to go back. "Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father" (13:1).
John's alone of the gospels has the footwashing. Why? Well, as John's Jesus explains, it is to set an example for us of service to others.But I don't think John wants us to sit in the congregation this Maundy Thursday and watch Jesus wash some other people's feet and say, "Isn't Jesus a thoughtful person? We ought to be doing things like that in our church."
This text is not about watching Jesus put his hands on on somebody else's feet. It's about letting Jesus put his hands on OUR feet. Not all of us want that. Allowing Jesus to touch our feet is allowing him to touch our will.
We all have a mind; we all have emotions; and we all have a will—our decision making power. Our feet are how we put our decisions in motion and get places, do things.
To allow Jesus to cleanse our feet is to remove all that prevents us from using our feet to follow him. To scrub away our insecurities, to wash away our weariness, to buff off our bitterness.
If we don't allow him to cleanse our feet, our story with him stops now. The week goes on, but we have chosen darkness rather than light. Jesus' words to Peter are also addressed to us: "Unless I wash you, you have no share in me" (Jn 13:8).
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