Sermon Delivered March 31, 2013

Scripture:  John 13:1-14

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.  Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.  And during the supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.  He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”  Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”  Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”  Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”  Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean.  And you are clean, though not all of you.”  For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”  After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord---and you are right, for that is what I am.  So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 

Sermon:  The Hour

What is the Hour?

            Our text this morning begins with the acknowledgement that Jesus knew his hour had come.  This terminology, the hour, is an important one to the gospel writer, and we have already seen it mentioned several times throughout the book of John.  At the wedding of Cana, for example, we recall that Jesus tells his mother that his hour has not yet come.  Likewise, when Jesus claims to have come from the Father, we are told that the people of Jerusalem attempt to arrest Jesus and are prevented from doing so because his hour has not yet come.  What John is doing by scattering this terminology throughout the gospel, is building anticipation for what is to come.   The hour, referring to Jesus’ death and glorification, is the climax of the gospel story, and the series of events to which all others point.  By the time we get to chapter 13, the reader knows that this highly anticipated hour has come at last.

            Of course we should be, by now, quite familiar with this approach of building anticipation for what is to come.  For the past 40 days or so, we have been walking together through the season of Lent.  For some of us Lent has been defined by the additional mid week service we attend on Wednesdays at noon.  For others, it may have been a time of fasting from a particular food or giving something up in order to focus more energy towards God.  But for all of us, if we have truly understood the season, Lent is a time, which prepares us for the hour that is to come. 

            Tomorrow we will stand and watch as Jesus is tried, and then gather at the cross where Jesus will be crucified.  On Saturday we will wait with anxiety, as Jesus lies in the tomb, seemingly defeated by the powers of the world.  And then, on that magnificent Sunday, we will join with all Christians around the world to celebrate His glorious resurrection.  This is the hour, of Jesus’ death and glorification, that John has been pointing to and that we have been preparing for.  

            But, lest we get ahead of ourselves, before all of that we find ourselves in Jerusalem, in an upper room perhaps, around the time of the Jewish celebration of the Passover.  And while John wants to draw our attention to the connection between the Passover and Jesus, it is the hour that we should be concerned with here.  It is important to recognize that the intention of the author is not to cultivate anticipation for the Passover, but for what Jesus is about to accomplish on the Passover.

            And of course we cannot over emphasize the tension present in that upper room.  Perhaps the disciples were unaware of the events to come, but verse one tells us that Jesus’ knew that his hour had come.   This hour, though highly anticipated, will not proceed in a manner that anyone was expecting.  What is to come is betrayal, a trial, and a cross.  This is the hour that has come, and of this Jesus is perfectly aware.  And so it is, with all of that is about to happen weighing heavy on the heart and mind, with all of the tension and anticipation bubbling up inside, Jesus determines to inaugurate His final meeting with His closest friends, by washing their feet.

How Jesus Initiates the Hour

Washing feet.  That’s a strange thing I think.  It’s not a practice I’m very familiar with at all, and I can’t say that I have ever washed anyone’s feet, other than my own.  I can’t imagine it would be too much fun.  And while I can’t speak to the art of foot washing first hand, I do know a thing or two about washing cars.  You see when I was younger I used to spend my Saturday afternoons in Powell, Tennessee with my grandfather, washing the family cars.  I would take the sponge, dip it in the bucket, and begin to wash the body of the car.  He would come behind after me and rinse off the soap with a garden hose, and then we would take rags and dry the car before the sun could create water marks.  To be honest, I had a lot of fun washing cars.  It wasn’t too much work, and I enjoyed the time I got to spend with my grandfather.  But there was always one part that I really dreaded.  Once the body of the car had been washed, rinsed, and dried, it was time to clean the wheels.  Now wheels are an entirely different beast.  You have to get down on your knees, in the soapy water, and scrub as hard as you can to chip away the dirt and dust that has accumulated in between the spokes of the wheel.  And of course, a simple sponge won’t do.  If you really want to clean a tire you have to take a tooth brush, preferably one that is ready for retirement, and you take it and you scrub the wheel until it shines.    

            I think, in a way, feet are kind of like that.  They are the wheels of the human body if you will.  They are the quickest to get dirty, and perhaps the most difficult to clean.  I imagine a simple rinse would not have been sufficient.  No, to wash the feet would have required scrubbing the soles, getting in between the toes, getting down on the hands and the knees and washing feet.  It seems quite uncomfortable don’t you think? 

Well, while the task of washing feet would not have been very glamorous in Jesus’ day, it was not so uncommon as we might think.  In a culture where folks reclined to eat, that is laid down in a lowly position, the feet could be very prominent.  And, if you have to have someone’s feet next to your food, you would probably want to make sure that the feet had been cleaned.  The amazing part about this scene is not what’s being done, but who’s doing it.    

In Jesus’ day, the task of washing feet would have been reserved for servants.  The word, in the Greek is doulos, and it can mean servant or even slave.  With the way we tend to romanticize the “servant” role in our culture, I don’t think the later definition, slave, is at all inappropriate to imagine.  Jesus is placing Himself in the position of a slave.  So, when we find objection from the voice of Peter, I don’t think we should be at all surprised.  This is a radical thing the Master is doing, reversing roles in His final hour.  Perhaps a better question to ask might be why Peter is the only one objecting!

Who Jesus Spends the Hour With

            But if taking on the role of a slave was not enough, I want us to think for a moment about who Jesus decides to begin this final hour with.  There is of course Peter, reluctant, and then almost comical in his objection and enhancement, having to be reassured by Jesus that all of this serves a purpose.  We see James and John arguing over who is to have cleaner feet in the Kingdom of God.  There’s Thomas, probably not certain he wants to even go through with having his feet washed.  And then, possibly emerging from the corner of the room, comes Judas.  Reluctantly he makes his way over to the chair where Jesus will wash his feet, avoiding eye contact, perhaps even in tears, knowing what he is about to do.  Did you catch that?   It is not until Jesus has shared the bread and foretold of His betrayal that Judas exits the scene, so we can be certain that the man who is to betray the Lord is present and accounted for as Jesus washes the feet of the twelve.  Isn’t that something.  The man who is responsible for the betrayal, the event that is to precipitate the trial, beating, and crucifixion of our Lord, has his feet washed by the very One whom he is about to betray. 

In Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, The Inferno, he writes that the deepest pits of hell are reserved for the treacherous, for the betrayers.  And while Dante’s poem is fictitious of course, his priority of betrayal, as the worst of sins, reflects the piercing sting imposed by such a grievous deed.  There is no worse pain than that of betrayal.  This is not an enemy we encounter in Judas, but a beloved friend who is about to inflict the worst kind of pain upon Jesus.  And yet all the while, there’s Jesus, kneeling and washing his feet.  This is the scene that John paints for us.  Of Jesus, in his most difficult hour, taking on the role of a slave despite being the Master and Lord of all, and washing the feet of both His friends and of the one who is responsible for the betrayal that is to come.

What Are We to Do During Our Own Hour?

            And as the disciples stand there, taking in all that has just transpired, Jesus turns to them and says, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet.  You should do exactly as I have done.” 

With a very vivid example, Jesus is telling the disciples that they must love one another in the same way that Jesus has loved them.  In John Calvin’s commentary on these verses he suggests that Jesus is, “laying down a rule of love, for love does not exist without the voluntary subjection to serve one another.” 

            We have all gathered here this morning to recognize the Christian celebration of Maundy Thursday and, as is the case with all religious holidays, the intent is not to simply recall the stories of old, but to remind ourselves of why they matter.  Here in John, in a book that is shrouded in mystery and suspense, Jesus gives us the most blatant example of Christian living in all of scripture.  On the night before He is to die, Jesus is telling us how we are to live.

            We are, I think, quite happy to imitate the Jesus of Easter, the Jesus who stands triumphant, having won the victory over sin, death, and the powers of the world.  But I think we are far more reluctant to imitate the Jesus we find here in John 13.  The example Jesus gives us here is far more taxing.  There is no triumphant victory as of yet, only humility and love.  There is no glowing messenger, only clumsy disciples and a dark betrayer.  The work is not glamorous, but the task of a common slave.  And yet this example is one that we are capable of embodying each and every day.

            During this time of the year we tend to look forward to Sunday.  You undoubtedly have plans for Good Friday and certainly for Easter, and for good reason.  No matter what the season, our eyes should always be focused on both the cross and the empty tomb.  Our final destination, like Jesus, is with the Father in glory and we anxiously await the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter for we look forward to the day when we join Him.  But before the resurrection must come the cross, and before the cross comes this example. 

            Most of us will not have the opportunity to lay down our lives in any literal fashion today, nor will we be granted the glorious resurrection we so eagerly await, but there is not a one of us in this room who will not have the opportunity to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters this very hour.  Every single one of us will have the opportunity to make ethical and moral decisions that, though they might compromise our own comfort, will bring glory to the Christ we celebrate this season.  Every single one of us will have the opportunity to smile at a stranger, even if smiling is the last thing we feel like doing on this somber day.  We have the opportunity to apologize when we are wrong, to take the time to call a friend, to practice patience, to speak honestly, and to serve others even at our own expense.  It is in the mundane, ordinary, day-to-day activities that we live for Christ, and if we wish to follow His example, we must be diligent to take every opportunity to humble ourselves and serve one another. 

The hour of Jesus’ glorification is upon us, and as we walk with Him through His final moments on earth, let us seek that courage and humility to follow His example, to wash the feet of those in our midst, and to reflect the love of the Master who, at his darkest hour, took on the role of a slave that we might learn to do the same.  In just a few days the world will watch as Christians everywhere celebrate Easter Sunday.  And as they do, might they see those of us who have taken on the title of His followers, embracing not only His victory, but the road that He took to get there and the example He left us to follow along the way.