Maundy Thursday is the title the church now gives to what we generally call The Last Supper. At that last meal together, Jesus explained how the bread and wine now would be a reminder of his body and blood, a remembrance of what he was going to do on the cross.
Maundy actually means command (from the Latin)
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”(John 13:34-35, NIV)
Those are easy for us to swallow. (Pardon the pun.) But here is the next thing he did. He washed their feet and he told them to do the same.
Remember now those feet were excessively filthy. People threw everything into the streets and you walked in it. Foot washing was not a happy moment for the washer. And yet…Jesus washed feet and calls us to do the same.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:14:17, NIV)
Face it. It is easier to wash feet than to have your feet washed.
Prayer-Lord we are too prideful about foot washing and lots of other things that require servanthood. Help us, Lord, to be more like you than we are. Amen.
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