That would be have been enough - Redeemer Episcopal

John 13:1-35

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. ²The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper ³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, ⁴got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. ⁵Then 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. ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” ⁷Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰Jesus 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.” ¹¹For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.” ¹²After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. ¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

³¹When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³²If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.³³Little 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.’ ³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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If you would like to listen to this sermon (with the Spirit's infusions), you can click on this link. 

I have witnessed the practice of foot washing in many congregations, and there is always a bit of uneasiness surrounding the practice. It feels intimate and strange to us today. 

But foot washing was a common practice in Jesus’ time. If you have ever walked along the beach or a dirt road, you know how the small grains of sand and dirt seem to stick to everything, even if you are wearing shoes. It was common that as friends and family sat down to supper, the host of the meal or, if the host was wealthy enough, a servant would come around with a basin of water and a towel to wash the guests’ feet. 

End & Beginning | Radical service 

Foot washing marked the end of a long day in the dirt. It marked the beginning of fellowship time, the beginning of supper with friends and family. 

It was a servant’s job. It was a humble act of service that was honestly kind of gross. And the Son of God got on his knees and took on this task for his friends before supper. Jesus, God incarnate, the Word, the man who repeatedly does things that only God can do, boldly claiming “I and the Father are one” kneels down before his friends, humbling himself, and does servant work. 

And if that was the only thing he did, if he simply performed this practical and radical act of servanthood for his friends, then that alone would be incredible. It would be enough. 

End & Beginning | Radical hospitality 

But Jesus’ actions are never simple. Foot washing is never just foot washing. Jesus washing the feet of his disciples marked the end of an old command, and the beginning of a new ministry, a new commandment to love. 

Jesus washing the disciples’ feet is an act of radical hospitality for his friends, including even the one who will betray him in this act of love. This love in action says, “I and the Father are one, and you, too, are in unity with God through love. You are in unity with God through my love for you and your love for one another.” Love one another Jesus commands us. 

If that had been all he did, then that alone would have been incredible. It would have been enough. 

End & Beginning | Radical hope 

The act of foot washing is also a radical act of hope. The disciples know that their feet are going to get dirty again as soon as we go back out on the path, but they wash them anyway. We know that sin will cover us once again, yet we confess our sins and hear about God’s forgiveness anyway. 

We come back every week, sometimes several times a week, to hear the story that we already know— a story of radical hope in the face of unquestionable and seemingly unconquerable fear and death. We know that we will be overcome with the reality of sin and evil in this world as soon as we leave this place, maybe even within the walls of this place, but we come anyway— to be washed in the waters of baptism. We come back because Jesus gave us a new way to be nourished and filled with hope by Jesus’ very body and blood in the Eucharist.

If that had been all he did, then that alone would have been incredible. It would have been enough. 

End & Beginning | Radical love 

And we do this because we know that Jesus washing his disciples’ feet marks the end of his earthly ministry and the beginning of his journey to the cross. We know how worship ends tonight. We know we depart in silence, anticipating the next three days, repenting our part in this journey. And we also know that Jesus’ journey to the cross is a journey of radical love. Love that we are commanded to extend to all people. And radical love is just that— love incarnate. Love in action. Love to the point of death. Even the most humbling death— death on a cross. 

If that had been all he did, then that alone would have been incredible. It would have been enough. But we know that what seems to be the end of the story is only the beginning… 

This sermon was originally preached on Maundy Thursday, April 18, 2019 at Redeemer Episcopal Church. It was inspired by a song by a dear friend called Simply Enough by Justin Rimbo. You can listen to that here.