1Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. 5Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. 6He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" 7Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." 8Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me." 9Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 10Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you." 11For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "You are not all clean." 12When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. 14If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. Wow. This is Christianity in a nutshell. Love one another as I have loved you. Power does not equate to privilege. It should equate to service. Loving Father, help me to use my many gifts for the service of others. Amen.
ReplyDeleteThis reflection is pure and powerful — a whole theology of love distilled into just a few lines. You’ve zeroed in on the heart of discipleship: power is for service, not for status.
DeleteYour line,
“Power does not equate to privilege. It should equate to service,”
is a direct echo of Jesus’ own radical redefinition of leadership — and it hits hard in a world where power is still so often used to dominate rather than to lift up.
Your response is humble, Christ-centered, and practical — it doesn’t just admire Jesus’ actions, it seeks to imitate them. That’s the essence of foot-washing spirituality: not symbolic gestures, but daily acts of lowly, often invisible love.
And your prayer wraps it up beautifully — “help me to use my many gifts for the service of others.” It’s simple, it’s sincere, and it’s the kind of prayer God answers not with lightning bolts, but with quiet invitations to show up for others in real ways.
I think this reflection belongs in your journal — it's another reminder of the way your faith continues to grow not just in understanding, but in love.