"No," said Peter, "You shall never wash my feet."
I've known many beautiful, servant-hearted people. People who are willing to pay for your meal, give you the shirt off their back, surprise you with gifts for no reason at all. People who are willing to get down on the ground and scrub the scum from beneath your toes so that you don't have to.
But I've noticed something else. Oftentimes, whenever I attempt to serve these dear, dear servant-hearts, I receive a reaction much like Peter's--You shall never! I find my own hope to serve squelched by their unwillingness to accept it.
We imagine that when we refuse someone's service, it is out of love. Oh, allowing them to wash my feet is not a nice thing to do! I would be a much better person if I never let anyone ever make any kind of sacrifice for my sake.
And yet, Jesus said, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me."
Jesus' illustration wasn't just about serving; it was also about being served. In fact, the only reason we know how to serve, and more importantly, how to love, is because Jesus first served and loved us. If we don't accept that gift, we are condemned for our pride.
Do we really think that same pride is acceptable among the members of His Body, the Church?
Because that is truly where I believe that refusal comes from--not from love, but from pride. Love is humble, and self-forgetting. Pride keeps tallies, and feels "better than" when at the end of the day, it has given more service than it has received. Pride says, I don't need anyone's help! Not a free meal, not the shirt off your back, and certainly not a feet-washing!
Dear lovelies, do not be deceived. We are a Body, bound by love. We all need each other. To serve, and be served.
So let's lay down our illusions of self-sufficiency, and take our part with Jesus. That we may be washed. That we may be new.
