Loving Service

Love That Stretches To Humbly Serve & Save

4.1.21 [John 13:1-17] River of Life (Maundy Thursday)

Rev. 1:4 Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come… Amen.

Somebody’s got to do it. It’s not that there aren’t ways to delay it a little longer. You can go the Jenga route—setting your piece carefully on top of everything else and crossing your fingers that whole thing doesn’t spill on the floor. Or you can put your foot in it. Stomp down its contents and compact the whole thing to make room for your item. But eventually somebody has to do it. Whether you’re in the office or your home, you know what I’m talking about. Taking out the trash.

How do you decide who’s going to take out the trash? Maybe that job fell to your kids. But now that they’re moved out, how do you decide who’s going to take out the trash? Somebody has to do it. More than likely, taking out the trash is a shared chore. It isn’t one person’s job. Taking out the trash isn’t a glamorous task. But it’s gotta be done. And somebody’s got to do it.

In our Gospel text for this evening, there was a less than glamorous task that had to be done. Jesus and his disciples were about the celebrate the Passover Festival. (Lk. 22:8) Jesus had sent Peter and John to make preparations for the group to eat the Passover. They followed their Teacher’s directions and found everything as he said it would be. They found a (Lk. 22:12) large upper room, fully furnished, where they could make preparations for the Passover.

Typically, when we think of what was needed to celebrate the Passover, we think in terms of the meal. Things like enough space for a group of 13, a table where they could all recline, and cups and bowls and serving vessels for eating the Passover meal. The fully furnished room had all these things. There was also a foot-washing (Jn. 13:5) basin in this fully appointed room. Normally, the feet of those dining together would be washed before the meal. Which makes sense. You and I wash our hands before we sit down to eat. In those days, they didn’t each sit at a chair to eat. They (Jn. 13:23) reclined at the table, putting some of their body weight on the person they were sitting next to. [This custom for dining together was part of the reason the Pharisees had such a problem with Jesus breaking bread with (Lk. 5:30) tax collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners.]

In addition to that, Jesus and his disciples walked everywhere and wore sandals. Animals were the only other form of transportation. Donkeys, mules, horses must have made a mess of the streets. More than that, they were celebrating the Passover in the big city of Jerusalem. The city was teeming with many extra inhabitants and while the people of Jerusalem had a sewage drainage system, it was not a tightly closed system. Even today, with all our advances in hygiene, big cities have a reputation for being a dirty place. Jerusalem’s streets were not the kind of seasoning one wants at the dinner table.

But as they entered the room to celebrate the Passover, though they all knew their feet needed to be washed, not one of the disciples volunteered for the task. Washing feet was the work of slaves, especially slave girls. To these disciples, who often argued which one of them was the greatest, this kind of work was beneath them. They were likely waiting to see which one of them Jesus would assign this task to, as he had given the task of making Passover preparations to Peter and John.

But he didn’t select any of them. He loved each of them. And he was about to show them the full extent of his love for them.

(Jn. 13:2) As the evening meal was in progress, Jesus made his choice. (Jn. 13:4) He got up from the meal, disrobed and wrapped a towel around his waist, taking on (Php. 2:7) the very nature of a servant. (Jn. 13:5) Then he began to wash the feet of his disciples, drying them with the towel that he had wrapped around his waist. This must have been shocking to the disciples to witness. They knew what he was doing, but it’s hard to imagine they understood why.

When our Lord and Teacher came to Peter, he met resistance. (Jn. 13:6) Lord, you are going to wash my feet? Jesus insisted. (Jn. 13:7) You’ll understand later, Simon. But that answer was insufficient for Simon Peter. This was slave work, far beneath his Lord and his Teacher. Never! Peter replied. Patiently, Jesus persisted. Unless I wash you, you aren’t with me. (Jn. 13:9) Then wash me head to toe, Teacher! Peter answered. (Jn. 13:10) Your feet are enough, Jesus assured him. You have already been cleansed.

When he finished washing the feet of all Twelve of his disciples, the Teacher explained the lesson. (Jn. 13:12-14) The titles of Teacher and Lord are rightly mine, but I do not use them to subjugate someone or trample on any of you. Rather, I have served you, because I love you. My love for you has moved me to humble myself.

The Teacher’s love is obvious to anyone who reads these word. The Lord’s love moved him to humbly serve those he loved. That love put his followers to shame. But not just them. Us, too. It’s not that we never show love by humbly serving one another. But our love is always limited, more often than not conditional. Sometimes, the limits and conditions feel beyond our control. They’re the hand we’re dealt. But more often than not, we impose the limits. We insist upon the conditions.

Sometimes, our busy-ness restrains our love. We may love our friends and family, but because of a bunch of other obligations, we find few opportunities to put that into practice. We let others dictate our priorities, and those we say we love, slip through the cracks. What does it reveal about our love, when the ones we say we love are always getting the short end of the stick?

Right now, it may feel like our love is restricted by health guidelines and recommendations. And we must admit that keeping our distance so that others may remain healthy is an act of humble love. But consider your plans once this is all past. Maybe you plan on taking a trip or getting together for a nice meal with close friends. Those are the kinds of expressions of love, we miss. Not the menial stuff, right? But once this is all past, you may discover that there are loved ones who are fine physically but struggling emotionally and spiritually. Will you be willing to weep with those who weep, when there is no end in sight for their struggles and you’re finally free to do as you please?

Of course, more often than not, we are the ones imposing limits and insisting upon attaching conditions to our demonstrations of love. We will love some, but not those who drain our energy or do not spark joy within us. We will love some of the time, but not when we are stressed, overwhelmed, or under great pressure. We will love some people, but not those who have cheated, insulted, or deeply wronged us. We will love some of the time, but not when it is inconvenient or irritating.

The most incriminating evidence of our limited and conditional love is likely found in our marriages. In our midst, I’m not aware of any arranged marriages. You picked your spouse. You knew them, a little. By dating, you got to know them better. Then you made a public vow before your other friends, family, and God to love and cherish them til death do you part. How’s that going? This past year has been like a marriage boot camp. (1 Cor. 13:4-6) Have you been patient and kind? Respectful and humble? Eager to serve and quick to forgive? Or have you been self-seeking, easily angered, with a detailed list of grievances you can rattle off at the drop of a hat?

You and I can’t even love one person of our own choosing, perfectly. Only our God can do that. And he has. He has loved us to the end. Tonight, we marvel at the depths of our Lord and Savior’s love for us.

Jesus loved you and me so much that he was willing to do a far dirtier job than taking out the trash or even washing our feet. He came to cleanse us from all our sins. Why? For the same reason, he stooped down to wash his disciples’ feet. Because God is love and God puts his love for us into action. (Eph. 5:25-27) Christ so loved you that he gave himself up for you. To make you holy. To cleanse you by the washing with water through the word. So that you might be made what you were not. His radiant, beloved bride. Holy and blameless. Without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish. If he did not cleanse us through the waters of Baptism and his Word we could have no (Jn. 13:8) part with him.

While, we see the depths of his love on the cross, we must save some of that for tomorrow. Tonight, let us linger in the upper room where we see how his love stretches out to serve us.

Consider again what limits our love. We admitted that when we are busy, when we are stressed, when people let us down, our love wanes. Are not these the very things Jesus was dealing with that evening? Is there anything that could make a person feel more busy than literally saving the world? Is there anything more stressful than knowing that an extended bout of suffering—and your death—is right around the corner. But the important work of taking away the sin of the world, the stressful duty of suffering and dying on a cross, did not impede Jesus’ love for his own. It intensified it. As he prepared to make atonement for their sins, he continued to concentrate on his disciples. Not on their faults and flaws, which were very much on display in this stressful situation. Not only had they let him down before, they would do so again in a critical moment. Jesus knew they would, and he still loved them to the end—even his betrayer. He was committed to working out all things for their good. On loving them to the end. This is why he washed their feet, so that they could see their Savior humbly stoop down to cleanse them, so that they could experience the full extent of his love. That love would move him to share himself with his disciples in the Lord’s Supper. That love would spring forth from his lips as he prayed for his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. That love would prompt him to peacefully surrender to those who came to arrest him, so that not one of his own might be lost.

In this moment, Jesus illustrated what he had already done in his incarnation. The second person of the Trinity was wrapped in heaven’s honor, glory, dominion, and power. He chose to stoop down and wrap himself in humble flesh and blood. He became like us in every way, except sin, so that he might cleanse us from sin’s filthiness. He would humble himself to death in their place, even death on a cross. Why? Because he loved sinners, like us, as his very own. He became our servant so that we might be welcomed into heaven’s mansion. (1 Jn. 4:10) This is love. Not that we loved God first or foremost. He loved us first. He sent his Son while we were still his enemies, to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins that defile us. (1 Peter 4:8) This love covers a multitude of our sins.

And his love is a beautiful example we are called to imitate. It may be that Christ’s love will humble you to wash the feet of another. But this is an example, not an ordinance. While Jesus did encourage his disciples to do for one another as he had done for them, remember the context. Washing your feet was a daily need. John informs our application. (1 Jn. 3:16) This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. What are the needs of those around you? Perhaps it is humbly taking care of someone who can no longer take care of themselves. Maybe it is meeting with someone who is lonely or carrying on a relationship with someone who has a reputation for being cantankerous or quick to complain. Love for our Lord compels us to be patient with our children and slow to anger with adults who are behaving like children. Love for one another prompts us to listen well. Humble love for one another leads us to have deep spiritual discussions where sinners are brought to the cleansing power of Baptism. Love for one another moves us to place our wants and our needs, to the back of the line, so that we might love one another. Love like this fulfills Christ’s command. (Jn. 13:34-35) As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples. Amen.