MOIRAJO
  • Weekly Devotionals
  • Weekly Message
  • Sermon Podcasts
  • Links
  • Contact

"Washing Each Other's Feet: An Act of Prayer" March, 2015

3/1/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
 

So when he had washed their feet, put his outer garment back on, and sat down again, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me, 'Teacher' and 'Lord.' You say so correctly, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither one who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.   John 13:12-17

 Listen to:  Kirk Franklin, "My Life Is in Your Hands" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIPMllUV12o

 Friday, March 6 is "World Day of Prayer."   WDP  is an international, ecumenical, lay-women led  initiative. It Involves worship, reflection and prayer, with the understanding that listening and learning with one another are vital aspects to our prayer life.  Prayer must open us up to one another. Prayer ultimately leads us to take action, whether it is to make changes in our personal lives or engage the world in more just and peaceful manners. 

This year, our sisters in the Bahamas are leading the World  Day of Prayer.  They have picked the theme, Jesus' words to his disciples after he washed their feet, "Do you know what I have done for you?"   Jesus performs a powerful, prophetic act by washing his disciples' feet. In the days of dusty Palestinian roads,when people wore sandals, it was custom for the lowest servant to wash the feet of the guests.  It was a common gesture  of hospitality -- to remove the dust of the day so one could relax and enjoy a meal, the conversation and be comfortable.  Jesus stunned his disciples when he stooped down and willingly stepped into the servant's lowliest role: removing the dirt and filth from the feet of  the guests. Peter gives voice to the disciples' shock  when he says to Jesus, "Never at any time will you wash my feet!" (John 13:8).   They had never seen an esteemed rabbi/teacher/leader embrace the work of a slave.  

For Jesus, this is what love does.  Love serves.  Love goes out of the way. Love volunteers for the nitty-gritty "dirty work" of caring.  Love understands that to make a difference in someone's life means a willingness to do what may not come naturally. So love enters another's life on their terms.  This is what Jesus did when he took on human flesh, when he wrapped that towel around him and began to wash his disciples' feet.  More important for us, Jesus left us specific instructions:  We are to wash one another's feet. 

 So we are asked to prayerfully reflect on how God is leading us to "wash away the anxieties, the dirt of the day" from each other?  Sometimes we do this by being that gentle presence.  We do this by praying with and for one another.  We do this by listening carefully, asking questions, getting to know what others are going through.  We may not use water, but through our touch, our words, through kind deeds, setting an example, or through advocating and building bridges we wash away the grime of the world that can cake and encrust our feet.  

 Do you know what I have done for you?  Jesus asks.  Jesus just didn't wash feet.  He loved.  He loved so much that he was willing to do a radical act that pushed the envelope.   Do we know how much Jesus has done for us?

How does Jesus' call to washing another's feet make you feel?   
 

Prayer:  "Servant-God, help us willingly to "wash one another's feet."  Show us what this means in our world today."

 

Here are additional links to the World Day of Prayer Bible Study and tips for action.
http://www.wdp-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2015-Bible-Study-Web-Only.pdf
http://www.worlddayofprayer.net/action.php

 

 


Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Moirajo is a minister, social worker, wife, mother, writer and animal lover. That's just for starters. Join the story, there's so much we can share together! 

    Archives

    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Categories

    All

    Bible,  Living life on life's terms, spirituality

    RSS Feed

© Moira Ahearne 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.