A DEVOTION FOR MAUNDY THURSDAY
John 13:6-9 [Jesus] came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”
Knowing that this would be his last meal with his friends before he was to be handed over to death, Jesus “loved them to the end.” That’s the way John’s gospel clues us in on what is about to happen. Jesus, taking the role of a servant, kneels before his disciples to wash their feet. The One they have called “Lord” and “Teacher” lovingly takes care of the feet of the ones who have walked so many miles with him.
Peter objects, as if to say: “Lord, it should be the other way around. I should be washing your feet!” Not so many years before, John the Baptizer felt that he should have been presenting himself to Jesus for baptism.
Like bookends, Jesus’ actions of humility stand at the start and the close of his ministry. The water that marked its recipient as God’s own now becomes the sign that binds a community together in mutual love. Jesus knows he can’t physically remain with his friends, so he bids them to care for each another, as he has done for them. In the sign of loving one another, Jesus will be made known through them. (John 13:35)
As followers of Jesus, water is a foundational sign of our faith. The basin and towel of Maundy Thursday recall for us the basin and towel of baptism. We who were redeemed and reconciled to God in the water of baptism are sent as co-workers with the Risen Christ to make redemption and reconciliation known in the world.
Pastor Keith Dey
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Southern Shores, NC
John 13:6-9 [Jesus] came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”
Knowing that this would be his last meal with his friends before he was to be handed over to death, Jesus “loved them to the end.” That’s the way John’s gospel clues us in on what is about to happen. Jesus, taking the role of a servant, kneels before his disciples to wash their feet. The One they have called “Lord” and “Teacher” lovingly takes care of the feet of the ones who have walked so many miles with him.
Peter objects, as if to say: “Lord, it should be the other way around. I should be washing your feet!” Not so many years before, John the Baptizer felt that he should have been presenting himself to Jesus for baptism.
Like bookends, Jesus’ actions of humility stand at the start and the close of his ministry. The water that marked its recipient as God’s own now becomes the sign that binds a community together in mutual love. Jesus knows he can’t physically remain with his friends, so he bids them to care for each another, as he has done for them. In the sign of loving one another, Jesus will be made known through them. (John 13:35)
As followers of Jesus, water is a foundational sign of our faith. The basin and towel of Maundy Thursday recall for us the basin and towel of baptism. We who were redeemed and reconciled to God in the water of baptism are sent as co-workers with the Risen Christ to make redemption and reconciliation known in the world.
Pastor Keith Dey
Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Southern Shores, NC
No comments:
Post a Comment