12 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. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Feet, washing feet. If you are a parent you are very aware of the interesting smells of feet and what can be found trapped between little toes. Those feet, while smelly, are easy to wash. Have you ever been asked to help one incapacitated because of age, illness, or injury? Perhaps your friend or a parent? Washing their feet is a bit different. When you are helping care for someone who has cared for you or when you are giving help to someone who would never ask for that help unless there was absolutely no way for them to do it on their own. If you are the one on the receiving end of that care. You then better understand what Jesus did here for the disciples. They were not incapacitated. They were expecting to have the opportunity for their feet to be washed. But the last person they expected to have care for that need was Jesus. They tried to dissuade him from this act but he would not stop. This was a teaching opportunity. Our care for one another is not because the other is in need but because it’s an opportunity for us to serve. How are you serving others?