John 13:1-17; 31-35 (NRSVUE)
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He 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!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, “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. Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them….
When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Devotion – Do This in Remembrance of Me
The cross and the empty tomb are, of course, the most powerful symbols of new life in, with, and through Jesus Christ. Yet, Christ’s incarnate life is a journey marked by symbols and manifestations of newness and rightness of life in Him: the babe in the manger; the Spirit descending on Him like a dove; cleansing the leper; the dazzling clothes of the Transfiguration; the raising of Lazarus and so many more. On this day, we remember and practice two other powerful symbols of new life: the washing of feet and the celebration of the Last Supper.
Our daily lives are dedicated to doing things: preparing for work, taking care of ourselves and others, reading the news, washing clothes, taking our pills and making dinner. Such is life. Yet, the things Jesus the Christ did to reveal the promise of new life in Him – from dying on a cross to washing feet, from raising the dead to eating bread and drinking wine, from the grand to the inglorious – may remind us that the things we do in our lives can be, should be sacramental: doing in remembrance of Him.
Sacraments are signs of new life. Sacraments also are forms of resistance against the evils of betrayal, injustice, and suffering. And so too, acts of love. This evening as we eat the Last Supper with Jesus Christ, we remember the child in swaddling clothes and the man hanging on the cross. But most of all, we remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Prayer (from Psalm 116)
Dear Lord, You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
And for all of this bounty, I lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
This I do in remembrance of You.
Amen.
David Morrison