|
|
|
Sunday March 9, 2008 "Setting an Example" John 13:1-17 |
 |
|
Location: Blogs Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 3/13/2008 7:50 AM | “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him, not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
I think that may be my favorite passage in the entire Bible. It comes from what I consider to be my favorite gospel, the Gospel according to John. John’s Gospel is different than the other three. In fact, scholars talk about the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke as the “synoptic” gospels, while the Gospel of John is in a category all by itself. Matthew, Mark and Luke are “comprehensive” writings of the life of Jesus that more or less follow the same pattern. John, on the other hand, differs in form and even in function. John is an evangelizer, wanting people to come to know the messiah personally. And in so doing, he is not quite as concerned with setting down an orderly, chronological account.
In my opinion, the writing in John’s gospel is the most beautiful, even lyrical, in the entire New Testament. The pictures the author paints are full of vibrancy and clarity. The feelings that the author evokes are amazing. From the prologue to the closing story of the resurrected Jesus preparing breakfast on the beach and giving final, loving instructions to Peter, John grabs the reader, pulls them into the story, and skillfully introduces the fully human, fully divine Jesus. In John, this portrait of Jesus as fully divine and fully human is easier for me to see than in any of the other three gospels.
This opening salvo of John that I read just a minute ago is a great example. In beginning the gospel with this prologue, the author of John is alerting the reader to the divinity of Jesus and the sacredness of his mission among the Jews of Palestine and Israel.
This point is one that is very important to this gospel, to all gospels, really. If we are to fully tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth, from the beginning, the divinity of Jesus must be front and center, understood and accepted. Of course, not all do accept that Jesus is God on earth, the divine messiah come to forgive sins and offer salvation. Some believe he was simiply a prophet, a progenitor of an admirable philosophy. Even people who follow the teachings of Jesus sometimes have real difficulty with the idea that he could have been both fully human and fully divine. “Can’t be,” they exclaim. “You can’t be fully two things…it’s impossible.” It seems to me that such a declaration shows a limiting view of God, and a human arrogance that proclaims we have the capacity to understand everything. Even one of the greatest thinkers in history, Thomas Jefferson had some problems getting his great mind around this humanity/divinity thing. At one point in his life, Jefferson endeavored to “harmonize” the four gospels into one. He, like many, didn’t see the need for all four. But here’s the interesting thing about Jefferson’s Gospel: when he put it together, he left out all the miracle stories of Jesus…and the gospel ends with Jesus dying on the cross. What does that mean? It means that Jefferson’s gospel contains no resurrection.
I don’t raise this story to pick on Jefferson, but rather to illustrate that many, many people have a difficult time reconciling this duality of humanity and divinity. And in Jefferson’s case, he seemed to accept Jesus’ humanity, but did so at the cost of Jesus’ divinity.
We who have experienced the very real presence of Christ in our lives must endeavor to make people understand that the divinity and humanity of Christ are both important. In understanding that Jesus’ was both, even if we can never understand how that happens, we get insights into why Jesus did things the way he did.
So, the opening verses of the Gospel of John present the most famous statement of Jesus’ divinity in all the gospels: “He was in the beginning with God.” But equally as important to John is presenting the human Jesus for all to see. And today’s scripture is one of those places where we see the human Jesus reaching out to his human counterparts.
As this passage opens, the close of Jesus’ earthly ministry is coming, and Jesus knows it. The disciples still don’t get it, but then why should they? They have never experienced anything like the ministry of Jesus, let alone the persecution and death that will come. And resurrection? How were they supposed to get their heads around that? They may be confused by some of what Jesus is saying, but hey, they’ve been confused before by what Jesus said. Why should this day be any different?
The passage opens with a meal – the last supper - being shared between the disciples and Jesus before the Passover. This is a subtle but powerful point. The other gospels point to “the last supper” as being the Passover meal, a traditional meal where observant Jews mark the flight from Egypt under Moses’ leadership. The other gospels use this as a way to tie in the release from bondage that the exodus from Egypt represents with the release from the bondage of sin that Jesus’ death and resurrection represent.
John takes a slightly different tack. In John’s gospel, the meal is shared, Jesus is betrayed, and the hour of Jesus’ death coincides with the sacrifice of the lambs to be used in the Passover feast. Thus, Jesus is forever identified as “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
The divinity of Jesus comes front and center in the first verse of this passage: “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the father.” He knew what was coming. He knew why it was coming. Only one privy to the mind of the divine could understand and accept what was about to happen.
But before the first verse is over, the humanity of Jesus becomes the focal point for this passage: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
Having loved his own…his brothers and sisters…his human comrades…his family.
He surveys the scene, understanding that Judas is about to betray him, knowing that the world of the disciples is about to turn upside down. Jesus anticipates that he is about to endure the most gruesome human suffering imaginable. He realizes that those who love him will be filled with horror, and doubt, and panic. With that knowledge, Jesus got up from the table.
Slowly he took off his robe. The disciples must have been shocked. This teacher, their lord and master, the host for this wonderful meal has stripped to his waist! This is unheard of. People of station do not do things like that. It’s beneath them.
Then, he tied a towel around his waist. The effect would have been unmistakable. By removing one piece of clothing and adding another, Jesus was transformed from the gracious host to the humble servant. Suddenly he went from reclining at the head of the table to being the servant who washes the reclining guests feet.
It was an old custom, this foot washing. We read in Genesis that when Abraham welcomed the three divine visitors, the visitors who would prophesy the birth of Isaac, he said, “Sirs, if I have deserved your favor, do not go past your servant without a visit. Let me send for some water so that you may bathe your feet; and rest under the tree, while I fetch a little food so that you may refresh yourselves.”
In the Greco-Roman world, hosts who welcomed travelers in from the dusty roads would exhibit their hospitality by having servants wash their feet.
It’s a nice thing to do. The dirt and dust of ancient roads would have caked around the sandals and feet of travelers, and what better way to show they are welcome than by offering to help them clean up?
But this, this important man taking on the countenance of a servant? This was unacceptable and Peter, ever the hothead, let Jesus know just that.
“You’re not washing my feet!” Peter announced.
“If I don’t,” Jesus replied, “you can’t be part of what I am doing.”
“Then wash all of me!” shouted Peter.
“All of you doesn’t need washing, just your feet.”
We have generally looked at this passage and concluded, much like the title of this sermon indicates, that this is Jesus giving the disciples – and us – an example of how to live, and while that is true, it only becomes true in a much larger context. Yes, we are called to serve. But our service takes on expanded meaning when we accept the call to participate with Jesus. In this story, we see that Jesus participates with us directly, one on one, where our greatest need lies. Jesus enters not only a servants role in this passage, but a profoundly human role. And a profoundly intimate human role at that. It is one thing for a detached servant to carry out this act when they are so ordered by their master. It is quite another thing for a close to friend, a mentor, to do the same.
Listen to Phyllis Williams Provost’s take on what it means to serve someone by washing their feet: “You see, when you wash someone’s feet, they almost have to look right at you. And for a brief moment, they know YOU know about all their warts and callouses, but that you are still willing to hold their feet. And then, you have a chance to treat some of the cuts and bruises life has given them…when you are around people’s tender spots, you can either really help them or really hurt them more. They’re vulnerable and they know it. That’s why most folks are uncomfortable at first. But a good servant knows how to put them at ease, how to use their skill to renew them. Oh, sometimes you try to do your job and people have an attitude and you want to just walk away…but you don’t. Because it’s not their attitude that’s important; it’s yours.”
Jesus knelt to wash his disciples feet. He knelt with the full realization that the hour of his betrayal was near. He knelt not as the divine messiah. He knelt not as the learned teacher. He knelt as their friend and fellow traveler, seeking to do for them out of his love for them.
John tells us that ‘having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them until the end.’ He was one of them. And he loved them. This act of service is an act of self-revelation for Jesus. In revealing his love for those who surrounded him, he was mirroring the love that God had shown in sending him to be with them. The essence of this act is not the service, but that Jesus offers himself in love: gracious, transformative, unequivocal love.
What if Jesus had just called on one of the servants to carry out this act? The servant might have done a better job. The servant skilled at footwashing might have provided great comfort and pleasure to the disciples. But the servant would not have entered into the act with the same love toward the reclining guest, and that makes all the difference in the world.
For the disciples, the real meaning of this act is still to come. They may have felt Jesus’ love in the act, but how could they know what would be asked of them in the days and weeks to come? The meaning of this act will only become apparent to the disciples as they are called to carry on Jesus’ message. To do so without fully realizing the depth of Jesus’ love for all of humanity would be to act as a servant who does what they are told, dispassionately detached. For the disciples, their willingness to heed Jesus’ example, their willingness to accept this love will empower them to move forward in love.
Gail O’Day, new testament scholar, puts it this way: “One can follow Jesus’ example only if one has already experienced Jesus’ loving service for oneself.”
O’ Day is right. We can serve all day, and that’s fine. But it is really not the service itself that is so important. What IS important is serving in love, as we have been loved. What is really important is giving the world a glimpse of Jesus Christ.
Again, the words of Gail O’Day: “Jesus does not simply issue a general call for service; he issues a call to give as he gives, to love as he loves…when the faith community embodies Jesus’ love, it not only reveals his identity, but it also assumes a new identity for itself, shaped by Jesus’ love.”
As our Lenten journey winds toward Palm Sunday, the events of Holy Week, the horror of Good Friday and the awesome joy of Easter Sunday, we must continue our introspective meditation, seeking to more fully understand how we can come closer and closer to God and closer and closer to whom God would have us be.
It all starts with accepting Jesus’ love and following his example. In our acceptance and in our following, the world has a chance to experience what we have: enduring hope borne of God’s abiding and unwavering love.
In the beginning was the Word…now it’s up to us.
Let us pray: Loving and present God, we seek to follow the example that Jesus offers us, so help us to see the whole picture, the complete example. When we move into the world to serve, when we open our doors to visitors and fellow travelers, help us to guard against doing it simply because we are told to do it. Remind us of your presence, that we might fully realize the power of your love. And in feeling your love, let us look to those we serve with that same feeling, and in our connection to them, may you be served and may all we meet come to know you and to feel the full weight of your love in their lives. In Jesus’ name we ask it all. Amen
| | | Permalink | Trackback |
|
|
 | |