WHAT'S THE LOVING THING TO DO?

 

March 28, 2024

John 13:1-15

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

WHAT'S THE LOVING THING TO DO?

“Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” In this unexpected act of foot washing, Jesus was communicating something profound about the nature of God's love. Love is not simply what Jesus does, but love is who he is.

When we consider loving someone, we think in terms of actions and behaviors. We ask ourselves, “What’s the loving thing to do?” But Jesus’ unexpected, humble act of service leads us to ask a different question, the question, “Who am I?”

A while ago I was reading an article by the Late Tim Keller, in which he suggested that without first asking this question, about our identity, who we are, we can unsuspectingly place limits on our love because we are not operating out of a "gospel-transformed" identity. Keller suggests as an example "if we see ourselves as orphans needing to look out for ourselves instead of as God’s beloved children, we will limit our generosity towards others out of fear of scarcity, not having enough." A further example Keller writes, “if we think we are righteous by our own hard work, there will be boundaries to the way we are willing to serve others because our pride keeps us from serving those who “aren’t deserving.” Something for us to ponder today and ask ourselves Who am I?

Our verses today about Jesus humble act of washing his disciples feet invites us to look to Jesus, what is it we see? I believe we find in him a beautiful freedom to serve others, arising from the confidence of knowing his identity: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant …” (Phil 2:6-7, NIV). What the account above pushes us to comprehend is that Jesus was able to serve in a way that no one expected because he knew the God’s love intimately.

The take-away on this Maundy Thursday is to recognize that the same heart that led Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet would lead him to the cross. “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” When we learn that God is Love, and therefore that we are loved by God, that we are God’s beloved children, that we have the same honoured standing and sanctuary with the God that Jesus has, it is then that we become free to serve in the radical, loving ways in which he has served us. 

Notice how Jesus put it, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

LET US PRAY

Loving God, truth is I forget each day who I am in Christ and the grace that surrounds my life. My love has limits because I don’t embrace the truth of who you have made me to be. Help me to live out the reality of being your beloved child so that my love for others flows out of who I am in you. God by your Spirit, dismantle the limits I have placed on my love. In Jesus Name, Amen.