Title: Let's Be the Washers of Feet.
Contents
A young man named Samuel Brangle, who once dreamed of becoming an Anglican bishop, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to England to apply for the Salvation Army. However, General Booth reluctantly granted his support and instructed him to polish the boots of the other trainees in order to cultivate humility in him. Dejected, Brangle thought to himself, 'Did I come across the Atlantic to pursue my dreams to clean my boots?' Then one day, in a vision, he saw Jesus kneeling at the feet of ignorant fishermen. Then he quietly said: “The Lord washed their feet. I will wash their shoes.”
“He that is greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12).
One day, while Mother Teresa was treating a child with the utmost sincerity, a neighbor who lived nearby asked. “Sister, don’t you feel envious when you see people who are better off than you or of higher status live comfortably? Are you satisfied with living like this for the rest of your life?” Mother Teresa answered. “He who bows down to serve does not have time to look up.”
“He who has evidence of good works, or who brings up children, or who entertains strangers, or who washes the feet of the saints, or who gives alms to the afflicted, or who has followed every good work” (1 Timothy 5:10).
The students asked Dr. Stephen Olford, Columbia Theological Seminary. “Tell us the secret of Christian leadership! ” replied Dr. Olford. “The secret? Get down on your knees. Let tears flow in your eyes. And be patient when your heart breaks. Serve others like this! ”
Christian leadership is service. Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, washed the feet of his disciples, and said that you be imitators of me. Those who want to be humbled and become stepping stones in order to exalt others are imitators of Christ.
Jesus said, If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all (Mark 9:35). In the Talmud, it is written: “He who lies down has no fear of falling.” Serve others. You will not be tested.
The text introduces the occasion when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. The act of Jesus washing the disciples' feet was very perplexing to the disciples. In Jewish society at that time, it was customary to wash feet before dinner, which was a servant's job. But the Lord got up from where he was eating dinner, and suddenly took off his outer garments, put a towel around his waist, filled a basin with water, and began to wash the disciples' feet. In other words, he was doing the work of a servant. So it was only natural that the disciples were surprised. Above all, according to Luke, on the evening of the Last Supper, there was a dispute over who was the greatest among the disciples (Luke 22:24). would have stabbed After washing the disciples' feet, the Lord explained the meaning of washing their feet. “As Lord and Teacher, I have washed your feet, so you also ought to wash one another's feet” (verse 14). So what does it mean to be washers of each other's feet?
1. It means to humble yourself.
It is meaningful that the Lord's instruction to 'become washers of one another's feet' was given right after the disciples quarreled over 'who is the greatest'? Washing other people's feet is the job of slaves and slaves. But the Lord washed the disciples' feet as both a teacher and a lord. That's how you humble yourself. Therefore, the lesson to be 'washers of one another's feet' is to be humble. You can never wash someone else's feet without humbled yourself. On the other hand, the Lord's washing of the disciples' feet is the first step of humility leading to the death of the cross. This is because the event where the Lord took up the cross is the ultimate event of humility. (Philippians 2:5-8) Each of us must bear our own cross. To take up the cross means to kill the self. We must be humbled to death. That way you can wash other people's feet. The Lord wants us to be servants in our neighbors and in the world today. He wants you to wash your neighbor's feet with genuine love, respect and exaltation.
2. It is giving up selfishness and serving others.
One can never wash another's feet while he is preoccupied with self-centered thoughts. Therefore, we must let go of selfishness. A selfish heart is like an animal that only knows itself. But even among those who believe in Jesus today, it seems that there are many very selfish people who only know themselves. But, dear saints, keep in mind that the spirit that Christianity emphasizes is the spirit of altruism (Matthew 19:19). The example that the Lord Himself has set for us is also an unselfish spirit. The Lord's life was a life in which he never lived for himself for a moment. He practiced an unselfish spirit so thoroughly that he even gave his life as a ransom for others. The Lord has revealed the spirit of your life by washing the feet of others. Therefore, we who want to follow the Lord must lead a completely altruistic life.
“For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
3. It is to get rid of the prejudice that emphasizes only the visible.
You may remember the bestseller ‘Yuktangil’ a while back. Here's what it says: “A six-year-old child was sitting in the bathroom and playing with his feet in the basin. Then I took a basin of water and went to my father. ‘Dad, I came up with water, wash your face with this’ ‘Youngho, don’t you wash your face with water with your feet in it’ ‘Why? ' The boy nodded and poured the water from the basin onto the floor. But after a while, the child looked at his father for a long time. Dad was so weird. My father was sitting in the bath where several people were soaking his feet, wiping the sweat from his face with the water.”
There are things in our lives that are deeply ingrained in our ‘stereotypes’. There is a ‘prejudice’ that has hardened without realizing it. The ‘foot’ has long been perceived as the dirtiest thing. So, when you think of 'foot', you think of dirty things first. But it is not. According to the word of the Lord, there is nothing unclean about what is seen or what is inside. What comes out is unclean. (Matthew 15:18- 20, Mark 7: 15- 23) The human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). you washed
4. He exemplified that we should humble ourselves before the Lord.
We must sit at the feet of the Lord and receive the word of the Lord (Deuteronomy 33:3). Mary, Lazarus' brother, sat at the feet of Jesus and received the word of the Lord. He poured perfume on his feet and washed his feet with his hair (Luke 7:38-44; John 12:3).
“Humble before the Lord, and the Lord will exalt you” (James 4:10).
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest” (Matthew 11:29).
Brothers and sisters, we have learned what it means from this example of washing feet that the Lord taught us. It is a lesson to humble ourselves, to put aside our selfishness, to serve and exalt others, and to cast aside the prejudices that focus only on the visible. These are the elements that characterize the life of the Lord. We who follow the Lord should also live a humble life of washing the feet of our neighbors. This is the best way and the first step toward becoming more like the Lord.
* Prayer: Jesus, meek and humble of heart, I look back on whether I did not seek work that I could serve, but only wanted to be served and supplied. Please support the church's co-workers with love. Hear my prayer and deliver me from the following desires. Deliver me from the desire to be praised, from the desire to be exalted, from the desire to be praised, from the desire to have priority over others. We want to serve those who are called as one body in the Lord with love. Be conscious of God's gaze and always live with a humble attitude. I pray in the name of Jesus, who personally washed the disciples' feet and set an example. Amen