Maundy Thursday is the day on which Christians around the world commemorate the moment that Jesus knelt before his disciples and washed their feet. On one level it’s a scandalous image, almost offensive – the master becomes the servant, God washing the feet of mere humans. On the other, it’s an example of the divine love we’re called to reflect in the world; ‘maundy’ derives from the Latin word ‘mandatum’, ‘command’ – as in “A new commandment I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” And so, on the Thursday before Easter, churches will hold foot-washing services.
I’m never sure how I feel about this. I guess my fear is that it ritualises something that should transform us, something that should mark out Christ followers, not because they literally wash feet all the time, but because of their humility and service. I don’t think Christ’s command was intended to establish a ritual, helpful as rituals may sometimes be, but to serve as an inoculation against the temptations of power and pride. And if we share this ritual in church services, then are we serving those who need it most? After all, many feet are forgotten.
So, on this Maundy Thursday, let’s remember those who do all the humble jobs that keep our churches running: the cleaners, the caretakers, the people who empty the gutters and empty the bins. The people who put the chairs out, the people who make the coffee, the people who tend the gardens and create the rotas and do the flower arrangements and tweak the mics. The people who follow Jesus under the worst of situations; meeting when their doors are locked, worshipping when their church is bombed, praying as they sleep in doorways.
Let’s remember the people who get forgotten, the people who are misunderstood, the people who have been shut out, the people who have been exiled. The disabled struggling with a world that seems designed to exclude rather than include, those struggling with mental health issues, those tethered to pasts that hold them back. Those being crushed by the gears of power, be it political, economic or ecclesiastical, those we’ve maligned as demons (because people are not demons).
Let’s remember that the power God grants us is often found in a towel and a basin, that our words and songs are quieter than our actions and our hearts, that our rituals are momentary but our discipleship is every day, that Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world but Jesus turned away and headed towards Cavalry. And that after Maundy Thursday comes Good Friday, because a Servant King is crowned in a very different way.
The Left Hand of Ehud: Matt's Bible Blog 