The Last Supper: Risking the Loss of Friends

John 13:1-16, CEB

1 Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully.

2 Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. The devil had already provoked Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God. 4 So he got up from the table and took off his robes. Picking up a linen towel, he tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he was wearing. 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but you will understand later.” 8 “No!” Peter said. “You will never wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t have a place with me.” 9 Simon Peter said, “Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus responded, “Those who have bathed need only to have their feet washed, because they are completely clean. You disciples are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 He knew who would betray him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you is clean.” 12 After he washed the disciples’ feet, he put on his robes and returned to his place at the table. He said to them, “Do you know what I’ve done for you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you speak correctly, because I am. 14 If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you too must wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example: Just as I have done, you also must do. 16 I assure you, servants aren’t greater than their master, nor are those who are sent greater than the one who sent them.

Intro

This week, we are continuing our Lenten Journey to “enter the passion of Jesus” together. As Rev. Dr. Marcia McFee reminds us, each week, we are putting a frame around moments of Holy Week so that we might “enter the passion of Jesus.” On Ash Wednesday, we began by preparing the canvasses of our lives. We named the busyness in our lives that drives us to see life as happening around us rather than to us. We committed to slowing down and being intentional as we enter Christ’s passion. 

Next, we framed up Palm Sunday and the parade. Examining the division among the parade participants, we asked ourselves if we would join in. If so, we asked ourselves what we would risk to join Christ’s ongoing parade in the world. Then, we continued the journey as we paused and framed up the temple. We asked ourselves if we and the church would stand by and be complacent in the world around us or if we were willing to risk righteous anger to stand up for the least, the last, and the lost in the world. Next, we examined Jesus’ teaching as we risked challenging the status quo as we offered all that belongs to God, to God, even our very lives. Last week, we explored what AJ Levine coined “the First Dinner” and asked ourselves if we will risk rejection by the world as we give extravagantly, even of ourselves, to be in the presence of Jesus. This week, we continue our journey as we explore what it means to risk the loss of friends and examine the Last Supper.

So often, when we think of the Last Supper, we look to the Table. We think of Christ breaking bread and giving it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” We think of the cup and how Jesus says, “Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” And while this moment echoes across time and speaks to us each time we approach the table of the Lord, it is not the only part of the Last Supper. This week, we frame up a different moment of the Last Supper.

As we begin this morning, take a moment and close your eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. One more time. Breathe in. Breathe out. As you close your eyes, picture feet. These could be your feet. It could be a baby’s feet. If you think of the church, you may think of Glenn’s feet. It could be someone’s feet you’ve seen in Walmart or public. As you picture these feet, what do you notice about them? What do they look like? Are they well taken care of? How do they smell? You may open your eyes.

Feet may seem like an odd “thing” for you to picture, but it is timely with our Gospel lesson this morning. As they were preparing for the Passover, Jesus knew the plan. Jesus knew the time was coming to return to his father. Jesus knew that Judas was about to betray him. Jesus knew that he loved his disciples, and “he loved them fully.” Knowing what would happen, Jesus got up from the table, removed his robe, placed a towel around his waist, kneeled down with water poured into a bowl, and began washing the disciples’ feet. 

For many of us, this would seem quite strange. Number one, it is strange that Jesus would wash the disciples' feet. But for many of us, the idea of touching someone else’s feet is just plain disgusting. We don’t exactly think of our feet as something “attractive” unless we are talking about baby’s feet. We often think of a baby’s feet as cute and sweet. Yet, with a little age, feet stop being cute. Baby’s feet are adorable; adult feet…not so much. As one theologian puts it, “For many of us, feet are functional. Feet are hardworking. Feet carry our weight, enable us to stand, point us in the direction we need to go. Feet allow us to walk, run, skip, hop, and jump. Because we use feet every day, all the time, they take quite a beating. We cram them into shoes that do not fit, stand on them for far too many hours at a time, and pound them into pavement in the quest for aerobic exercise. As a result, feet become disfigured with corns, calluses, and bunions. Feet are usually not a very pretty sight.” 

The disciples’ feet were not exactly “pretty” or “adorable.” In Jesus’ time, most people walked everywhere. For three years, Jesus and the disciples had been walking from place to place. As they walked, their feet would be dusty and dirty. It is these feet that Jesus washes.

Jesus’ actions also seemed strange to the disciples. It was customary for there to be a bowl for feet to be washed in at dinners such as these. However, it was often done at the very beginning. Much like we take our shoes off when we come home, when people enter a home, they wash their feet off before going further into the house. In many homes, you didn’t wash your own feet. Instead, a servant or slave did that work. So it was quite shocking for the disciples to have Jesus not only wash their feet in the middle of a meal but also, as their master, do the work of a slave. Further, the disciples would have been familiar with the biblical model of students serving their teachers. Elisha served Elijah. Aaron served Moses. So, it was logical that the disciples should be serving Jesus.

We don’t know how many disciples he got through, but when Jesus got to Simon Peter, it was too much. Simon Peter will not let this continue. He will not sit idly by as his teacher, his master, takes on the role of a slave. He not only says that Jesus should not wash his feet but says that Jesus will never wash his feet. Jesus responds by saying that if Simon Peter does not allow Jesus to wash him, Simon Peter will not have a place with Jesus. Simon Peter, being the over-the-top disciple that he is, answers Jesus by saying then wash me, not just my feet. Wash my hands Jesus! Wash my head!

Like so many times throughout the gospels, Simon Peter fails to grasp what is going on in the moment. To understand what is transpiring around the table of the Last Supper, we must dig in a little deeper. Jesus knew where he was headed. He knew he had the full authority and power of God. Yet, out of a deep love for his disciples, Jesus chose to kneel to serve. And in doing so, Jesus modeled the outpouring of love that he would do in just a few days on the cross. 

I’m reminded of Paul’s writing in Philippians 2:  “Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings. When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names, so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11, CEB). 

Jesus was modeling the kind of radical love and humility that he calls us to embrace. He calls us to embrace our own shortcomings and to be willing to repent and turn to God. Some scholars suggest that the foot washing is meant to symbolize baptism. Others, however, argue that it demonstrates a need for ongoing repentance. That’s why Jesus says Peter doesn’t need a full bath; he just needs to wash the road dust off of his feet. 

One scholar frames this up by paraphrasing what Jesus was saying to Peter. He writes, “Peter, you probably had a full bath just before leaving home for this supper. On the way your feet became dusty; so you need only to wash your feet now. In similar fashion you, my disciples, may be said to have been cleansed from your old life; you have believed in Me, you have been my followers—these are your credentials for being here. But on the way to this hour, across the three years we have been together, in the midst of tension and stress, the bickering and the misunderstanding, the plotting and the scheming, you have accumulated some road dust. Doubt has become mixed with your faith, distrust with your love. Your purest thoughts of Me have become adulterated with questions. I understand—how could it have been otherwise under the circumstances? But, Peter, beware!”

You see, church, the message of Jesus was simple. I love the way Marcia McFee put it, writing, “Love one another as I have loved you—by serving, forgiving, freeing, communing—becoming one with—God.” This is the message that Jesus chooses to embody and model for the disciples. Serve. Love. Forgive. That is our call. For Jesus even washed the feet of the very man who would betray him. Friends, this radical way of living, of being together, is the antithesis of the way of the world. It is risky if we truly wish to form this kind of community. Inviting others into this way of living risks the very friendships we have in our lives. Jesus risked the friendship of his disciples. Peter was so off-put by this topsy-turvey way of leadership, of being that he said he would never embrace it. But what is really at stake in this text and in our lives is the very mission of Jesus Christ. The disciples across time must accept why Jesus came. We must accept our role in the mission of Jesus Christ. We must be willing to build of the kingdom of God, to build communities of faith that embrace the mission of Jesus Christ. 

So many people in the world are looking for a community like this. They are looking for a place where they can show up and be forgiven, loved, and cared for. They want a place where they can get the road dust washed off their feet, be fed, and be sent back out into the world to continue the journey. At the same time, some have been hurt by the church. They seem skeptical that such a community can exist. After all, we all have road dust on our feet; we all make mistakes and need forgiveness. Yet our call is to risk even our friendships to build the kind of community that Jesus calls us to. As we have asked throughout this series, what will you risk for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ? What will you risk to transform Smith Memorial into the kind of church Jesus is calling us to be?

If we respond as Jesus, if we are willing to risk even friendships to build up the kingdom of God, then our response is very simple. This lifestyle will not make us rich and famous. This lifestyle, this community will not give us power and acclaim. Instead, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to kneel down and wash the feet of others. That’s why I started this morning by asking you about feet because it is the dirty, nasty, stinky, calloused feet (literally and metaphorically) that we are called to wash. 

In one of the commentaries I read, I heard the story of a hospital chaplain in Chicago. Chaplain Lily would carry a Bible and a pair of nail clippers with him when he visited patients. No matter who they were or what they looked like, Chaplain Lily would offer to clip the patients' toenails in the hospital. Herb, a young doctor in training, noticed this and began carrying nail clippers with him. Throughout this career and even into retirement, Herb would carry nail clippers with him and offer to clip patients' toenails. Even when he became sick, Herb continued this practice until he physically couldn’t do it anymore. They handed out nail clippers at his funeral to encourage others to embrace this practice. 

Friends, we don’t have to go around and physically wash the feet of others. Sometimes, the practice looks like clipping toenails. Sometimes, it looks like embracing our unhoused friends and inviting them to spaces of mutuality and love. I do know this. Our call this morning is to be servant leaders. To embrace the least, the last, and the lost, inviting them into our spaces of love, confession, respect, and love. Sometimes, this means we must stand up to our friends or to others. But the way of Jesus is greater. The mission of Jesus Christ is more important than even our friendships. May we know our redeemer, who emptied himself, took on the form of a servant, even giving up his life, so that we might risk it all to invite all into the ongoing love, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.