Day 13: Dirty Feet, Dirty Body

3rd Wednesday in Lent

Scripture: John 13:6-9

^{NRS 6} He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" ⁷ Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." ⁸ Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." ⁹ Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"

         

Devotional: Have you ever met a person who is trying so hard to be humble they come across as arrogant? I think Peter must have seemed like that at times and today’s account is a perfect example. Jesus kneeled before Peter, girded like a servant, prepared to wash his feet. John’s writing hints that this was not the first set of feet before which Jesus had knelt. At a minimum, Peter was the second set of feet which makes his question a little strange, “Are you going to wash my feet?” I picture Jesus with a sarcastic grin saying, “No Peter, I’ve been cleaning the floor and I need you to pick up your feet!” Rather than sarcasm, John records the gentleness and patience of Jesus towards the one who would become The Rock. “Right now you don’t understand, but later you will.” Unlike the owner of the first pair of feet, Peter refused to let Jesus serve him like the lowest of slaves. Was he serious or was he just putting on the appearance of piety? Was his follow-up request to wash all of him true humility or an even greater effort to appear humble? We will never know the answer to those questions, but what if we were in that same moment? Would we want Jesus washing our feet? We get uncomfortable at the idea of a congregation member washing our feet. Would we really let the Savior of the World? Peter was impetuous, brash and attention seeking, but he responded like most of us would. Realizing that, we must wonder, “Who didn’t refuse?” The only answer that fits is Judas, His betrayer. His was the only personality among the twelve that we can imagine not objecting to Jesus washing his feet. What a powerful image of the forgiveness of Christ! Peter highlights our behavior, but reveals the true depth of Jesus’ forgiveness. The one who was about to betray Him, was the one He likely served first. All of us have dirty feet and dirty bodies. All of us need to be washed clean by the blood of Christ. No matter how dirty we think we are, we should find hope in Judas’ clean feet. They make clear that there is neither dirt nor grime, stain nor sin, that Jesus will not approach with His apron, towel and bowl. Will we set aside our pride and let Him wash us?

Prayer: Lord, today our prayer is one of thanksgiving. We stand before You as unclean sinners, stained and dirty from life who have humbly received Your gentle, cleansing touch. We give You thanks and praise for this mighty act of mercy and grace that overwhelms us with Your love! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit we pray, Amen.

Song of praise:    Nothing but the Blood of Jesus performed by Andy Cherry

                                                

Spiritual discipline challenge: Today we focus our challenge on the discipline of guidance. Seeking guidance is not discerning between a good choice and a bad choice. Guidance is about deciding between two good choices. Jesus has called us to be servants to all we encounter, but we will be faced with times when we have to choose who we can serve at that moment. This is where we need guidance from the Lord. As we are making life decisions today, let us seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in discerning God’s choice between two good options.