Church Service - Our Service

Church Service – Our Service

On Palm Sunday we celebrate Jesus the king who rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. As a king his only crown was made out of thorns. Jesus demonstrated his kingly dignity through humility. He demonstrated this best when, on the night before he died when he kneeled before his disciples and washed their feet. In the Gospel of John (13:1-15) on Holy Thursday, we don’t hear about the debut of the Eucharist, rather the gospel tells of Jesus’ humble service.

Ancient Travelers

Travelers in ancient Palestine wore sandals so naturally their feet would become quite dirty from the roads. It would have been necessary to have clean feet before entering the home of a host. The task of washing feet would have been given to a gentile slave because it was considered the lowest job imaginable; not even a Jewish slave would be expected to wash feet. Certainly the host of a meal would not lower himself to perform this humiliating task. On the evening of their last meal together, Jesus was the host and his closest friends were his guests. He lowered himself and performed the lowest job possible by giving them “a model to follow” (John 13:15). In leading by example, Jesus was training them to lead an army of foot washers. In an era where people often ask “what’s in it for me?”

Homework

Jesus demonstrates what he calls us to do for others. It reminds me of what John F. Kennedy said in his Inaugural Address in 1961: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” We should be prepared to ask not what our community can do for us, but what we can do for our community.