Thursday, March 28 2013 John
13:1-17
Andy Kramer
A
few years ago, I had the opportunity to help chaperone the youth mission trip
to Denver, CO. My group of 7 high school
students and I worked together, served together, ate together, navigated public
transportation together and worshiped together.
The final night Ben invited us to participate together in a foot washing
ritual. We were all (chaperones
included) a bit uncomfortable with this proposition. All the time we spent together that week made
us close, but washing each other’s feet?
That was a little more than what we signed up for. I didn’t really want to wash someone else’s
feet, and I definitely didn’t want someone else touching my feet. As we began this act, it quickly turned from
an awkward moment to a very intimate moment.
We realized that it takes a great deal of humility to wash someone
else’s feet and to allow someone to wash our feet.
That
experience by itself was powerful, but it takes on more meaning as I study the
text from John’s gospel. Jesus sets an
example of how we should live our lives and serve others. In verse 14, Jesus tells the disciples that
they should follow the example that he set for them. So does this mean I need to go out and wash
people’s feet? Or are we called to serve
others in different ways?
If I
look at my experience in Denver as the culmination of a week of ministry to
others, it would be a powerful experience, but there is more to it than just
washing feet. My foot washing
experience, along with this text, forces me to ask the question what sacrifices
am I willing to make to serve others?
And when I look at the sacrifices Christ was willing to make, it leads
to a question that I really don’t want to ask myself: what sacrifices am I not
willing to make? As we look at Christ’s
example of serving others, it pulls us out of our comfort zones and pushes us
to go beyond what we perceive to be our limits. We realize that it takes a
great deal of humility to put others’ needs ahead of our self interests.
Prayer: Dear
God, Thank you for sending your Son to us.
Help us to follow his example and serve others. Amen.
Daily Challenge:
Look for opportunities to serve others who are in need.
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