The Towel Before The Argument

Point: Before I argue about Christian order, Jesus puts a towel in the hands of those who belong to him.

After writing about the body, sickness, fasting, and resurrection, I am stopped by the plainness of John 13. Jesus knows where he has come from and where he is going, and then he kneels. The scene does not make his authority smaller. It shows what divine authority looks like when it moves among dusty feet.

There are at least two thin readings I should resist. One treats the foot washing only as a moral illustration: be humble, be helpful, be nice. That is true as far as it goes, but Peter's refusal shows something deeper. Jesus says that unless he washes Peter, Peter has no share with him. Before disciples imitate Christ, they must receive from him.

The other thin reading turns the act into a denominational badge and forgets the commandment attached to it. Some churches practise literal foot washing; the Mennonite confession treats it as a sign of humble service and mutual cleansing. Other traditions keep it especially on Maundy Thursday; Presbyterian, Methodist, and Anglican accounts all connect the basin with Christ's new commandment to love as he loves.

My current leaning is modest: whether foot washing is practised regularly, liturgically, or chiefly remembered, no church may treat it as decorative. The Lord who is Teacher first cleanses, then commands. If my reading, worship, or church argument makes me harder to serve and slower to kneel, I have understood less than I think.