You Kidding Me? Wash My Feet?

Last night I was reading John 13 when the Ruler of all creation stoops down to wash his disciples' feet with the same hands that had formed the entirety of the known and unknown universe. Peter, one of my favorite characters in the bible, objects to  this treatment. Jesus, "You're not going to wash my feet- ever!" Peter understood what was going on. Jesus himself was serving his disciples in an almost despicable way. Yes I serve tables for a living and that can be a bit humiliating at times but washing somebody's feet?

I remember summer days playing whiffleball with Jay and Dusty and I have always hated wearing shoes so I would wear sandals sometimes. Boy, after a few hours in the dust and the 

dirt moving around I could hardly see my own skin. Imagine walking around for eight or ten 

hours in the desert with sandals on! These guys must have stunk to high heaven and the high king of heaven stoops down to wash them. 

So Peter is right to object in one sense. I was imagining my mentor Tal trying to set up our room at Tapestry. I take some sense of pride in helping him out and would be insulted in one sense to see him take the initiative and take care of some small and inglorious detail. I mean, I've been with him now for two years. Oh yeah, and he's not Jesus! He's just a man and we get angry at each other without cause just like anybody in any relationship does. 

Now imagine Peter as his Lord kneels down and pours out the water on his feet. Makes a bit of sense why he would object, doesn't it? Not only is his pride assaulted but his whole world is being played with by Jesus. No, Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. Jesus did not come to institute a new religion of service- he came to serve that we would follow him in this divine mystery of humility. 

This puts a new spin on John's opening words in this story. "Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end." What kind of love is the love of Jesus? The kind that loves regardless of how it makes him look- the kind that is there right to the very end.