Dear John 13 - Serve
Christmas Pajama night.
The men made marvelous Cookie Monsters.
Another chapter which packs a powerful punch. Should we delve into foot washing or reflect on Jesus' prediction of Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial.
A precious young woman at our church has a baby due in 4 weeks. She and her husband are building a new home and it is not complete, so they are living with her parents. Oh, the anticipation! Sunday morning her dad told me he noticed a light on downstairs very early. That was unusual, so he called down to see if everything was ok. He said, "Certainly she would have told me if she was headed to the hospital!" His excitement had his wife up and out of bed, like firemen, they were ready to run to the hospital. The daughter had just turned the light on to let the dog out. Bless their hearts….it's going to be a long 4 weeks.
Do you think there were times Jesus just wanted to have this all behind him? Would the anticipation of knowing what was ahead for him, bring on the anxiety that we incur in our waits?
So many lessons for us to learn in this chapter. Like in the game Apples to Apples, I get to choose the winning passage. For today, I am the keeper of the keyboard keys!
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:12-17
What a setting. The preparations for foot washing are in the room, but there is no servant. Not one of the disciples offers to perform this task. Jesus steps forward. They don't want him to do it either, but he has a lesson to teach. What a potent example of leadership. He even washed the feet of the one who was about to betray him! HUGE.
Is the owner of the business willing to scrub the office toilets and empty the trash if the cleaning service did not show up the night before?
Will the store manager throw off his jacket and load merchandise off the truck or stock shelves if need be?
On a 9 degree day last week, my husband told the teachers to go inside and the Head of School stood out in the cold and opened the car doors for the children to come inside.
Where might it be God is calling us to humble ourselves and serve this week?
Just thought of how one of the nine year old princesses, I told you about, came up to me and told me she had been wearing her crown so much it finally broke. Every now and then we have to take off our tiaras and be a servant!
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
