I Have Washed You
MAUNDY THURSDAY
This very night, Maundy Thursday, was unlike any other night in the history of the world, for all that would unfold in the darkness of this night takes place on the very same night of our Lord's betrayal. St. John tells us that the hour of the Lord has come! Not at Cana and neither in the restoration of a sinful woman at a Samaritan well, no. The hour of the Lord's passion and death has finally come tonight: on the eve of the Passover in a non-disclosed upper room with a table set for a feast, the very night of our Lord's betrayal.
In a sense, John's Gospel has led us to this night, into the upper room, into the Holy of holies in the earthly life of our Lord because Jesus knows full well that the hour of his passion has begun, "that he should depart out of this world unto the Father" (13:1). You see, on this Maundy Thursday we are nearer to the great sacrifice to be offered in the true Temple made without hands tomorrow on Good Friday. The hour has come, for this is the eve of his betrayal, wrongful arrest, subsequent mocking and beating, and finally, death by crucifixion.
And yet, our Lord's awareness of the hour of his passion having come compels love, not fear; love, not flight from danger; the giving of self to others. Jesus loved his disciples to so great an extent that on the night upon which he would be betrayed, handed over to the authorities, mocked, beaten, wrongfully accused, and ultimately crucified (on this very night), he chose the intimate company of his disciples and to impart one last farewell gift to twelve men he called "friend" because he loved them until the very end.
The gift he gave was an icon, a portrait forever imprinted upon their hearts and minds, of Humility and love. "And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he was come from God, and went to God; he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
None of this makes sense. In fact, it is the total antithesis of what customarily should be done. A master would never lower himself before an inferior, let alone wash his feet; it's completely backward. A host would never do such menial servant's work. But the Kingdom of Heaven doesn't operate according to the dictates of social expectations and practicalities or in line with the constructs of earthly men. God's ways are not our ways; Divine wisdom is foolishness to men. And this is because the Divine economy is compelled, sustained, and glorified through love. And love necessarily flows from humility.
There is no greater act of humility than the incarnation of the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, which is the very height of Divine lowliness in the condescending of God to take upon the fullness of our humanity, Jesus, who walked amongst and identified with lowly sinners. His very actions in the upper room write an icon of this great humility for his disciples, even us, to behold. In arising from the table, we recall his willingness to let go of his equality with God. Not only does he condescend himself by marrying lowly humanity to his perfect deity, but he comes meekly as a slave, a servant kneeling before his disciples (those who should be kneeling before him!) and carries out for them the service of a slave by washing their dirty feet. In the laying aside of his garments, he casts aside the raiment of his divine glory, putting on the garb of a slave, coming all the way down to the extreme lowliness of our fall.
Thus, the icon he paints is a vibrant portrait of love expressed through humble servitude. But what is to be gained or learned from this example of our Lord? What is he revealing to the twelve and to us? Answer: by his actions, Jesus reveals the great magnitude of his grace given in love to imperfect saints like you and me. You see, even though we have been saved by faith in Christ and washed clean of original sin through the regenerative baptismal waters, we sin, we miss the mark, falling prey to temptations and in satisfying the unholy desires and appetites of the soul and body.
Listen to what our Lord tells Peter, "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all." In other words, the baptized person is clean and needs not to bathe again, but sometimes dust from walking the Christian life accumulates, and our feet need washing. Again, Jesus said they were clean, but not all of them were clean; this applies to the Christian life as well; it is clean (in a true sense) yet prone to being sullied by everyday sins.
In the case of the apostles, St. Chrysostom sees them having been made clean through the word (15:8); but the washing of their feet signified that they had still to learn humility. The principle of their general purification and regeneration came through word and fellowship with Christ. Yet they needed to be cleansed from ambition and other sins which had clung to their feet in their pilgrimage as disciples. Christ's washing their feet symbolized the mercy and forgiveness they would need, time and time again, as they would walk the way of the Cross in service to the risen Lord for the salvation of the world. They would and did fail as we so often do, and like them, we too would need a means of forgiveness and the remission of sins committed as imperfect saints.
Foot-washing isn't a sacrament. Let me be clear: there is no forgiveness of sins in it. But in the upper room, it signified Christ's willingness to make his people clean when they get dirtied up by the allurements of the world and the desires of the flesh. Jesus knows our frailty (the vulnerability of the redeemed) and thereby makes a means of forgiveness and restoration when we stumble in the baptized life. The means of post-baptismal remission and renewal is found in the Divine gift of the Lord's Supper, that grand feast initiated on this very night when Christ instituted a new and better covenant ratified by his blood for the forgiveness of sins.
In the Lord's Supper, our bodies are made clean by His body, and our souls are washed through His most precious blood. Grace comes to us because Jesus is grace; to receive him in the spiritual supper is to receive Divine grace for the remission of sins. In the bread and the wine, we enjoy a holy communion with Christ, not simply remember his goodness, but participate in his fullness. Listen to St. Paul describing the mystical union which takes place in the Eucharist: "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16) We in him and he in us.
The Lord's Supper was given by Christ to the church as the continual means of covenant renewal with Him, a means of grace by which our sins are remitted, and we are restored into union with Him. Every effect which bodily food and bodily drink produce in our corporeal life, by preserving this life, increasing this life, healing this life, and satisfying this life – is also produced in the spiritual life by Eucharistic grace. These are the innumerable benefits procured unto us by His blessed passion, his precious death, his mighty resurrection, and glorious ascension!
And by faith in his blood and the partaking of his heavenly food, "we and all thy whole church obtain remission of our sins and all other benefits of his passion." We have been washed, and yet the Lord has graciously given a means of grace to wash away post-baptismal sins, which only the grace of Christ can cleanse. The sacrament of Holy Communion is a "sure witness, and effectual sign of grace, and God's goodwill towards us" (Art. 25). The humble servant comes to us and washes us clean in the sacramental meal which he lovingly instituted on this night so very long ago. This is the gift of God given to imperfect saints.
"Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." How often do we refuse the grace of Christ? Sometimes like Peter, we err from a misunderstanding of reverence, "Dost thou wash my feet?" We revere Jesus for good things and rightly so (his ascended kingship, his authority, and power, our Lord and Master) and, in doing so, concoct an incomplete picture revering him for some but not all of his attributes! "Master, I am unworthy for you to wash my feet!" We fail to reverence what we sometimes perceive as Divine weaknesses: his humility and grace, his servitude and embracing of obscurity, the God who stoops down and washes us clean! We often misunderstand Him and therefore keep ourselves from the means of grace for absolution.
But often, we fall prey to Peter's second error, which is the folly of self-rule. "Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet." Instead of foreseeing the blessing of the Cross enfolded in this act, Peter struggles with anxious forebodings against its pricks. Christ's washing of the disciples' feet was an affair utterly repugnant to his soul. "You will never wash me." Peter will determine whether Jesus washes him or not; Peter will rule the mercies of Christ when and if he needs them. Sadly, self-rule emanates from pride, and the prideful person will often seek affirmation of their choices, not absolution from them. And know this, our refusing the washing of Jesus’ grace will most certainly hinder the idea that we should wash the feet of our fellow disciples; for we cannot give what we ourselves have not gladly received.
Beloved, we must not allow pride to keep us from the means of Divine grace lest our impulsive wills and self-determination lead us to barren tables and empty rooms. Like Peter, we must learn Christ's lesson of humility, which accepts the humiliation of Christ's love and is cleansed by its power. Only in yielding our will wholly to the example and will of our Lord will we truly be cleansed. My friends, the sacrifice of your will may be harder than sacrificing your life, but unless you surrender yourself and get low like a servant before Christ, like a child, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven: you shall have no part in him. So, arise, come and be made clean. Come humbly and low. And the Servant of God will wash you and make you clean this night and forever more. Amen+
