Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Commit to Serve


Jesus washing his disciples' feet in the upper room is one of the most vivid depictions of servant leadership in all of the gospels. John 13 tells the story, go ahead and read it!


This is another episode in the gospels where I notice Peter's faith and understanding. Peter is a wavering disciple throughout the gospels. Sometimes, he has enough faith and understanding of who Jesus is to say "surely this is the messiah, the savior." Other times, he denies being a follower of Jesus. Here, he exclaims after he has washed some of the disciples' feet: "You will never wash my feet.” Peter did not understand, at first, what Jesus was doing. So Jesus told him and the rest of the disciples: "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me... Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. "

Jesus was modeling servant leadership to folks that only knew leadership from those in power. Jesus sets an example of an alternative way of looking at the world. Matthew 20: 27 says "and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave." This is an interesting point, because slaves would have been the ones that were supposed to wash the feet of the family they lived with and their guests. This upper room was a guest room in a wealthy family's home. We don't know why this family did not have a servant or slave for the household; we only know that Jesus took on this role by washing their feet.

Washing people's feet could be a disgusting endeavor. Folks in those days walked everywhere, there were no paved roads, and the disciples did not exactly live a lavish lifestyle. They would have been very dirty, it is safe to assume. Jesus did not pick some trivial opportunity to serve; he picked the most significant and the one that took a great sacrifice. It would have taken a while to wash all 24 of those feet. Enough time for them to watch him and listen to him say that he has come to serve, so his followers can do the same.

In grade school, I loved to play basketball. Whenever I knew that we were going to get to play in gym class, I made sure to wear my good shoes and show up ready. We usually got to once a week, so it was something I could count on and get excited for. I was the type of player who dove for lose balls, ran as hard as I could, and really gave it my all because I loved to play. Well, with this way of playing, injuries and accidents are inevitable. Most commonly, I would leave class with elbow and knee scrapes. One day, though, I had a really bad scare. I went up for a layup and the defender knocked me down while I was in the air, and I landed and hit the side of my head. I couldn't move, my ears were ringing, and I felt blood next to my face. One of the older kids picked me up, and carried me to the nurse, who was already busy with other students. He wiped my head clean, and did what he could to clean me up. I had always seen him as some sort of hot-shot jock who thought himself better than everyone else. But what he showed me that day is that the surest way to influence others is to serve them.

The invitation to serve by Jesus is a call to discipleship, to follow him. Jesus invites us to use the love we have for him to turn into love for our neighbor. If you are like me, every now and then you need some encouragement that your actions can actually mean something for someone else; that you are capable of love and service. Here is a hymn, "You are the Seed," (United Methodist Hymnal, 583) that encourages me, and I hope it encourages you.

You are the seed that will grow a new sprout;
you’re a star that will shine in the night;
you are the yeast and a small grain of salt,
a beacon to glow in the dark. . . .

Go, my friends, go to the world,
proclaiming love to all,
messengers of my forgiving peace, eternal love.
Be, my friends, a loyal witness,
from the dead I arose;
“Lo, I’ll be with you forever,
till the end of the world.”

In Christ,

Jack

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