The recounting of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet in John, chapter 13, is better understood when we know a few details from that culture.
Typical footwear of the time was sandals or just bare feet. Even if a person bathed in the morning, it didn’t take too long for his or her feet to get filthy. So, a custom when receiving guests into one’s house was to have a servant at the ready to wash incoming guests’ feet.
Foot-washing duty fell to the lowliest of lowly servant. It was not glamorous, and no one wanted to do it, so it was performed by the servant on the bottom rung. Hence, Peter’s vehement reaction to Jesus, his Lord, wanting to serve him in this way.
Interesting, though, if you’ve ever performed this ceremony at your church, it is not the giver who is humbled but the receiver. It becomes a totally selfless act of love and is powerful in ways you cannot even imagine.
It makes me wonder if that’s exactly what Jesus wanted us to discover when He called us to be servants to one another.
We also get a glimpse in a related act of simple service when we are in Tanzania. There is no running water in most villages, so when it’s time to eat, someone – usually a young woman or a youth – will come around the living room with a basin and a pitcher of warm water. He or she pours the warm water over your hands while you rub them together and gently shake them off over the basin.
For some reason, this humble act of service touches my heart every time.
Leave a Reply