What does it mean to have a share with Christ? It seems, whatever this share is, Peter wants it. He wants to have a share with Christ Jesus so much that his eagerness overwhelms his pride. Because it’s in his pride that Peter doesn’t want Jesus to wash his feet – pride that he is most loyal, pride that he will be the best disciple by not allowing Jesus to debase himself to Peter. It’s this pride that gets in his way a lot in scripture. He’s proud to call Jesus the Messiah, but when Jesus describes a Messiah that doesn’t do the things Peter expects, and indeed will suffer and die, Peter’s pride in being a part of Jesus’s ministry cannot handle it. He denies that Jesus could ever suffer and die as he is predicting, and Jesus reminds him – it’s his earthly pride that prevents him from truly seeing, truly understanding.
So it’s meaningful today that Peter is so desirous to receive what Jesus is offering as he washes his disciples’ feet. The one who could not possibly let Jesus lower himself to servanthood – and death on the cross – realizes that what Jesus is doing is so much more than just washing feet. He is setting an example. More than that, Jesus is setting forth an agenda for his disciples to follow in the years ahead.
And this agenda is of the same spirit as the agenda we hear of in the book of Exodus today, as the Hebrew people prepare for the night of the Passover – when the angel of the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites who had blood of the lamb on their doorpost, while visiting death upon the firstborn children of Egypt. This is the agenda of being ready – ready to move, ready to respond to God’s command to travel at a moment’s notice. That is what the Hebrews do, and what Jesus invites his disciples to do as well. Because there’s work to be done for the sake of the gospel. There will always be work to do. So Jesus reminds his disciples that to be prepared means your feet will get dirty. You have to be ready to move.
And this is what it means to have a share with Jesus Christ – to be those who, in response to the love and grace given to them by Jesus, glorify God through living as a servant. And what we do can only point to the glory that God has been given through Jesus Christ. We ourselves cannot possibly add to it – we are only blessed to be able to share in these things that Christ has already accomplished through the saving work that we witness to today and in the days ahead. And on this holy night, when Christ shares in his last meal with his disciples and bids them to love one another – no matter what the days ahead might bring, we hear this calling anew, and are invited to seek to live into Christ’s example of servanthood.
But to live into this example of servanthood – to be prepared to have a part in the work of Jesus – we need to recognize some things that might be a bit uncomfortable for us to realize. Because just as Peter is given a share in God’s work through Christ’s act of service today, where Peter ironically humbles himself by allowing Christ to humble himself before Peter, others are made humble in this moment as well. And this humility tells us just a little bit about who is welcome to do Christ’s work. Because Jesus didn’t just wash Peter’s feet. He didn’t wash the feet of ten other disciples. He washed the feet of at least twelve, which means he washed the feet of Judas, the one who would betray him.
And Jesus knew! Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Judas knew that Jesus knew. So imagine being in that position. Imagine being Judas, wondering if Jesus would pass him by in washing his feet. Imagine knowing you are so unworthy of such an honor, and yet, Jesus washes his feet anyway. Jesus breaks bread with Judas anyway. Because Jesus’ love isn’t just for the worthy. Jesus’ love isn’t for those who are already qualified. Jesus’ love is for those who have fallen so short, who can not possibly become more than they are, and in the love of Christ revealed this day, those who are unworthy are made worthy. They are justified by Christ’s boundless, transforming love, and now a new reality is at hand. The unworthy are made whole.
Which means maybe, just maybe, there’s hope. Maybe, just maybe, there is hope for those of us who truly feel unworthy this evening, because Jesus washes the feet of even the lowliest of his followers.
So let me ask you – this holy Thursday, this day of the Lord’s commandment to “love one another,” how do we live this out? What are we willing to risk? And are we ready to act when God calls us out of our safe spaces into new acts of service? Let’s be honest – there are days, and perhaps today is one of them, when we don’t feel like we could possibly offer anything to support the kingdom of God. There are days when we feel like we don’t have a part in what Jesus is doing in this world still today, because, because, because… But today we are reminded, it’s not about us. It’s about Jesus. And Jesus has already made us worthy, just as he made the disciples worthy through his washing of their feet. And if Jesus makes us worthy, the time to act is now. The time to do God’s work is now. And the good news is still the good news – Jesus through his life-giving sacrifice and humble service equips us in ways we don’t always expect, don’t always trust. But Jesus trusts us. Jesus trusts us to remember his commandment, to respond to his love, and to serve. Maybe not exactly as Jesus did, but serve all the same.
So family of God, as we prepare for the days ahead where we remember Jesus’ sacrificial love for us, I invite you all – be ready to move. Because God’s grace and freedom will come at an unexpected time. It will come to unexpected people. And the only thing we have to do? It’s to love just a little bit like Jesus for the sake of all the least and the lowly, and in so doing, we proclaim the eternal saving that comes into being through the humility of God in flesh, Jesus Christ, whose betrayal this evening did not and will never stop him from loving beyond all human understanding.