Exodus 12:1-14a
Psalm 78:14-20, 23-25
I Corinthians 11:23-26 (27-32)
John 13:1-15
The events which we recall on this night have their roots in the lives of God's Chosen People - stretching back some 3500 years. On this night Jesus celebrated a Passover meal that observant Jews had been celebrating since the events of the Exodus.
The Passover of the Jews marks the deliverance of God's chosen people from Egypt, the land of slavery. The Passover of Jesus marks the deliverance of the children of God from sin and death. Jesus takes the bread and wine of the first Passover and transforms it into the memorial of the second.
But before Jesus can fully accomplish that transformation - a transformation that will finally bring the Kingdom of God here on earth - he somehow has to get the attention of his disciples - his disciples then and his disciples today. Somehow he needs to make it very clear to them and to us that God's love is completely and totally unconditional; that it has nothing to do with whether or not we are worthy of it. God is always faithful in spite of our failures and our sins.
Aware of the shame and agony that awaits him, Jesus wraps a slave's towel around his waist, drops to his knees and begins one of the most menial tasks of the culture at that time: washing the dirty feet of his friends. It's the humiliating work of a slave, not the dignified work of a Master.
Jesus knows that he is dining with Judas, who will betray him, and Peter, who will deny him. Yet he kneels before them and gently washes their feet anyway, modeling for them and for us a radical love that goes far beyond worthiness, a love that is faithful in spite of our brokenness and betrayal. In this kind of love there is not only a willingness, but a plea for reconciliation - for brokenness in relationship to be made whole again. God willingly humbles God's self in order to reach out and find the hearts of those who have fallen away and become lost.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus has repeatedly taught that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. But he has good reason to doubt that his followers, then or now, have really 'got it' yet. So once again, Jesus turns worldly notions of success, authority and power upside down, revealing them for what they are - a false standard that pulls God's children further and further away from God and the Kingdom that Jesus came to proclaim.
Peter's reaction to Jesus kneeling before him to wash his feet is an indication of just how shocking it was. For Jesus to suddenly take on such a disgraceful role turns the world upside down. Such behavior completely undermines the rule of authority which keeps people in their 'proper' place and protects society from anarchy. People on the top have always fought to stay there and to keep those beneath them from getting any closer. That's how it's always been.
Peter left everything to follow Jesus - the Messiah - the Son of God. If Jesus is now stooping to foot washing... then Peter's entire understanding of power - and of the Lord of lords - is threatened - which, of course is exactly what Jesus intends.
Remaining consistent with his teachings, Jesus does not demand that Peter and the others look up to see him - to see God incarnate. Rather he compels each disciple to look down. He put himself in the position of the powerless and those society has deemed expendable - Jesus calls us to look for God down there on the floor, in service to others. And that is where Jesus calls us to be the church - down there, on our knees, in service to others - regardless of who they are.
One night about 2000 years ago, a man named Jesus gathered his friends together to share with them one last time a revolutionary message that's been turning everything upside down ever since. Despite the countless forces of darkness that are ever ready to destroy it, that message is still with us today; it just won't give up and die. It's a message that calls us to embrace a radical love which humbles itself before its enemies, reaches out to comfort the untouchables of decent society, and forgives those who seek to destroy it.
Tonight and whenever we take the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist - perhaps we can remember to pause and listen for the gentle voice of Jesus calling us to join him on the floor in humble service to all of God's children - calling us to take another step closer to that transformation which he began so long ago - where the Kingdom of God will finally come - on earth as it is in heaven.
AMEN