Faith

Good Friday – The Kindness of Calvary

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Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots. Luke 23:34 KJV

During the six long hours of the suffering of Jesus, He hung from nails driven through His hands and feet, and blood streamed down His face from the thorns that pierced His scalp. No one could have expected Him to do more than simply endure: But He did. Jesus was busy with an amazing number of things, and busy, not because He hoped to gain anything, but because His kindness and compassion was stirred up for those around Him. We can’t be sure of their exact order, but during those hours, Jesus promised the repentant thief, dying next to Him a place in paradise, He made sure that Mary would be cared for by His disciple John. In His agony, Jesus showed the world the love of God, so much so that as He died, one of the soldiers who had crucified Him, began to believe and confessed that He was the Son of God.

But of all the things Jesus did, none showed His kindness more than His final prayer “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!” Though prayed when He was at HIs weakest, that prayer is still being powerfully answered today. And today, on this Good Friday, If the sight of children starving in war-torn villages while evil dictators plan their next attack angers you, remember that in God’s kindness, lies an even greater power than guns and bombs. There is a stronger force than fear and hatred. And on that afternoon, when Jesus breathed His last, friend and foe alike thought that He was finished. And they were right! Jesus was finished paying the penalty for you and I – finished with taking away the sins of the world – finished with His Father’s mission for Him on earth but just beginning by kindness and love to change the course of history, one lost sinner at a time!

Holy Wednesday – Surprised by Love

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A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. Luke 22:24 ESV

Earlier this year, I was surprised by a beautiful flower that suddenly appeared on a large rather ugly cactus, alongside the road where I sometimes walked. I discovered that, with just the right combination of rainfall and temperature, this awkward plant could put on a show with spectacular white blossoms covering its scarred and twisted trunk. On Holy Wednesday, an even greater surprise awaited the disciples. In the middle of an ugly argument, they were having about who was the greatest, and right after Jesus finished serving them the bread and the wine, Jesus got up from the tabIe, and went into a side room. I can almost imagine Jesus striking his forehead and crying out “Oy Vey! These disciples are making me crazy!”

We may chuckle at the absurdity of that scene, but that night, Jesus gave us a surprising example as He returned to the room with a basin and a towel and interrupted their argument by washing their feet. Shame and gratitude replaced pride and anger, as Christ surprised them with love. Then He left an unforgettable command for us to do the same. Though, we don’t do much foot washing in the 21st century, the kind of service that this humble task represents is all around us. As Easter approaches, we need to each ask God how He could use us to serve someone who is as awkward, twisted and scarred as that old cactus. You just might be amazed by the beauty of the flowers God can produce through them, given just the right amount of His mercy and a little bit of His surprising, foot-washing love.

 So He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:4-6 ESV

Wash Them Anyway

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So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. John 13:4-5 NLT

“Anymore dirty dishes?” my wife often asks, rolling her eyes after closing the dishwasher, walking away from the sink, and then spotting my forgotten coffee cup in the office. Her tone tells me, that she doesn’t mind so much doing the dishes as she just wishes they could be finally done for the night! That is a bit like the washing of feet was for people in Jesus’ day. While the other three gospels detail the institution of communion at the Last Supper, John gives us the story of what happened next. And while, depending on our faith community, we take communion once a day, once a week or even a month, washing feet, like washing the dishes is a something that is a constant chore. Think of the world of Jesus’ day, with horses, donkeys, and sheep wandering the city streets, and it doesn’t take much imagination to know what people’s feet looked and smelled like. Leaving their sandals at the door that night definitely helped, but the bare feet of the disciples certainly couldn’t have been squeaky clean. Maybe as they had come into the upper room that night, they wondered who should wash their feet. Luke’s gospel tells us that they argued over who was the most important, so it is easy to see why no one wanted to wash anyone’s feet. At the end of the meal, when Jesus disappeared into a side room for a moment, nobody noticed, until He suddenly appeared in the doorway, with a towel wrapped around his waist and a basin of water in his hands. Next, he knelt, and, one by one, began to wash their feet. The same men who had gladly received the bread that Jesus had broken and drank the cup He had blessed were shocked as Jesus humbly washed the grime from their feet and then dried them with a towel. After Jesus finished, he stood up and said,

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.” John 13:14

Though our world is vastly different from theirs, feet still get dirty and washing them is still menial and seemingly pointless because feet just get dirty again! But Jesus tells us, “I did it so you can do it too!” When dirty feet show up at our doorstep, again and again, we may sigh, like my wife does at finding my forgotten coffee cups, but Jesus calls us to just go get a basin and towel and wash them anyway!