“Does Washing Feet Even Mean What It Once Did?”

Our feet are not dirty like the disciples' feet, so do they need to be washed?

Morgan Freeman asked one of the most appropriate questions for Maundy Thursday when he played the character Red in Shawshank Redemption, “Seriously, how often do you really look at a man’s shoes?” Except, I would amend the line to say, “Seriously, how often do you really think about feet?” Feet are the Rodney Dangerfield of body parts. They get no respect. None. Before tonight when was the last time you even thought about your feet?

Perhaps someone here got a pedicure in preparation for tonight’s foot washing and laughed when the manicurist scraped, polished, and massaged. Yes, if you have recently been to the beach you might have remembered that you have feet as your toes buried their way into the sand. If you are like me you have thought of your feet recently because you developed a blister while out on a run. However, by and large, we pay our feet no mind.

One might argue, “I love and respect my feet, as they are like the tires on a car without them I can go nowhere,” but this would only be true if we wrapped our tires in layers to disguise their very existence. Feet are not what they were in Jesus’ day. We hardly ever see one another’s feet anymore. So, our very understanding of foot washing has gotten complicated. Back then, the most elaborate footwear around were sandals, so everyone saw each other’s feet, but now we lay them beneath layers of leather and lycra hoping that they never see the light of day. We may not intentionally be ashamed of our feet, but even accidentally our actions point to a hiding away of a member of the whole.

Is there a part of our bodies that does more for us and about which we are more guarded? Everyone appreciates the eyes, they help us to see, to read, and to view this world. Without the nose and mouth we would have no taste and life would unpalatable. Hands help us to hold, to reach out, and to serve the world around us. And yet, our feet carry us to and fro all the while hidden away. Protected yes, but hidden nonetheless. Even in our homes I bet most of us wear house-shoes or slippers. But exposing feet and going a step farther by washing feet was not back in Jesus’ day and is not in our own day only about a oft’ forgotten part of our body.

Have you ever noticed in the midst of a fight with a spouse or a close friend that the two of you are not actually fighting about what you are yelling at each other? “Well, you never put the dishes away!” “How come you don’t like my mother?!” “You never put the toilet seat down!” has nothing to do with dishes or mothers-in-law or toilet seats. By putting those dishes away, by putting up with a mother-in-law, and by putting the seat down we show each other respect, reverence, and even love. Jesus kneeling down to wash his disciple’s feet was not an empty offering, it was not because he was worried about their feet being dirty either. No, it was a final teaching during a final meal. Jesus attached to his great commandment—Love one another as I have loved you—the action of being a servant and washing his disciples’ dirty, grimy, and disgusting feet.

In the other gospel accounts the Words of Institution that are so familiar take center stage at the Last Supper. We heard those words in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians tonight: “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me,” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:24-25). We hear these words so often that they have soaked into our souls. We weekly reach out our hands and mouth to accept the Body of Christ, the Bread of Heaven and the Blood of Christ, the Cup of Salvation. We believe that these are sacramental elements: outward and visible signs and sure and certain means of inward and spiritual grace! But we very rarely think about feet, and washing them, in this same way.

Today, in this part of the world, feet do not carry the same stigma as they did in Jesus’ day. They are not covered in the filth of the streets like they were, instead we keep our feet hidden. We wear extravagant shoes and fancy socks and our feet do their job balancing and moving us without saying a word. But, tonight is not about feet, just like arguments are not about the dishes, mothers-in-law, or the toilet seat. Feet are those things in our lives that we hide away. Feet are those parts of us that we cover up with multiple layers hoping that they do not see the light of day. They may propel us through life, but we keep them hidden from those whom we meet, maybe even those we love. But, Christ says no more. I want to wash your feet.

What are the feet in your own life? What are the things that you keep hidden from the light of day? What part of your life are you keeping secret that God not only wants to cleanse, but also by washing that will show you what true love is?

Who are the feet in your own life? Who are those people that you have been hiding or from whom you have been hiding? Who are those people that you long to wash and to serve, so that you might offer the cleansing love that Christ offers us tonight?

Back in Jesus’ day feet were the grimy body part that was in severe need of cleaning. Now in our day of modern hygiene and pedicures feet are no longer dirty, instead they are hidden away. The meaning of washing our feet has changed, and yet it is still the same. It is still about kneeling down to serve friend, family, or neighbor, but now it is also about God cleansing even that part of us that we are afraid to show to the rest of the world. Christ says: Love one another, serve one another, and wash each other’s feet.