Refusing to have your feet washed - pt 2

In order to serve there must be a "servee."  This same principle isn't just about our relationship to Jesus.  It also translates into our relationship with others.

Yesterday I paid two hospital visits.  The first visit to Banner Estrella was to visit the spouse of a church member with whom I've built a friendship.  At first it seemed that he didn't want any visitors, so I resolved that I would simply meet with and pray with his wife.  However when I arrived he had changed his mind and I was able to visit and encourage him.

The second visit was to the hospital at Arrowhead where I visited a lady who is a long-time member of our church going in for a heart procedure. Her husband and I waited for her to come out of surgery only to be told later that the procedure hadn't even started.  We were ushered back to where she was waiting and I was able to pray for her.  In both these cases, without permission, I would not have been able to serve others.

If you are a generous person who looks for opportunities to serve then you know that to serve someone else, requires him/her to give permission first.  Permission can be difficult to give because it means being open and vulnerable in a time of need.  For those who are strong and self-sufficient and used to being the server, chances are you find it difficult (impossible?) to give this permission.  This requires that you put your pride aside and allow someone the privilege to serve you.  However, they can't serve without a willing "servee."  The apostle Paul understood this and allowed the Philippians to serve him (Phil 4.) even though he was content in his needy condition.

Imagine that a friend was inspired by a sermon or by their own study of John 13 and felt God telling them to serve you.  Would you shut them down by your pride and self sufficiency or would you let them wash your feet?  In John 13 Jesus and Peter were bonded together because Peter finally allowed Jesus to serve him.  Peter entered in and became a part of what Jesus was doing in the world by putting his pride aside.  In the same way we connect with the good purposes and love of other Christians when we allow them to serve us.  Our fellowship reaches new depths when those who are typically the givers, open up about their needs and become vulnerable for the purpose of allowing others to serve them.

When I travel to developing world countries I see how important this mutual service is.  Americans come over with money and expertise and give to people in Mexico, Africa, Haiti, etc an abundance of service and finances.  The amount of service that is received often overwhelms people in these countries.  That is why it's so important for Americans to accept invitations for dinner (or other gestures of service.)  Of course I could feed myself...in most cases I'd rather go to a restaurant or eat the food back at my base, but it's a chance for the servee to give to the server.

Did you know there are people in your church and in your sphere of influence who would love to help you if only they knew of a need you had.  If only you would open up and share and be vulnerable during a time of need, your relationship would grow and they would be fulfilled in their service (and receive a reward in heaven.)  This can be especially hard for pastors and other spiritual leaders.  It is also hard for those whose careers are built on a public perception of personal strength and "having it all together."

Our Christian witness isn't in setting a "perfect" example...it's in our mutual love and service during our times of imperfection.

Refusing to have your feet washed?

Last week before I preached on John 13, I asked my family to come onto the stage and to let me wash their feet.  It was an emotional time that I trust will be remembered by them forever.  Yet, before I started, it crossed my mind that one of them might refuse to do this.  They might feel too awkward or embarrassed to allow me to do this in front of the church.  I'm glad that this didn't happen, but if it did they would not have been able to share in this stirring moment.  The opportunity would have been lost.  This was what Jesus faced with Peter as he washed his disciples' feet.

In John 13, Jesus denigrates himself in order to serve his disciples and to make a point.  His future reign as King would come about not through politics, threats, alliances, conflict, coercion and military power.  His Kingdom would be established and then expanded through acts of service.  His reign began with His service of sacrifice on Golgotha and his kingdom grew through the service of his disciples who followed the example of servant leadership they had witnessed in the upper room.

However, at that moment before the meal was served, a new revolution of servanthood was not on the minds of a single disciple in the upper room.  For this reason Jesus said something very interesting as he attempted to wash Peter's feet.  He said, "unless I wash you, you have no part with me."  It was at this moment that Jesus was crystalizing his strategy for world domination and it happened to be 180 degrees opposite of what Peter and the others expected.  Jesus was saying, "I'm doing this with or without you and I'm doing it through servanthood... so decide now if you're with me or not and whether you you want to be part of what I'm doing in the world."

For those who have studied their Bibles, you already understand this, but here's the part that many people miss...Jesus could not serve without an object to receive his service.  Jesus couldn't serve Peter without his permission.  In other words, there can be no server if there is no "servee."  Salvation is only available to a person willing to be served by Jesus.  Every false religion in the world has one thing in common...they all teach that you must do something to reach God (or to be saved.)  This belief contradicts the Bible which tells us here and in numerous places, that we must receive Jesus' forgiveness as a gift (we must let Him wash us.)

The person who fails to receive His gift but instead attempts to earn God's forgiveness or to atone for their own sins, is refusing to allow Jesus to wash him/her.  Have you let Jesus wash you?  Tell him that you believe that his death on the cross was enough to wash away your sins and that you give him permission to serve you by washing you.  Now, read John 13:1-15 and imagine that you are at the table and Jesus has just washed your feet!