4-6-23 - Andrew of Capernaum - Again

This week we will look at the gospel reading appointed for each day and reflect from the perspective of one the people on the fringes of the story. We too are on the fringes of this story – and we are invited to come into its heart this week. May these holy men and women draw us closer. Today's gospel is John 13:1-17. You can listen to this reflection here.

Andrew of Capernaum - My brother! Jesus sure nailed it with the nickname he gave him, Petros, the rock. Never met anyone so hard-headed. And lovable, ornery, faithful, cowardly – all rolled into one ball of leap-before-you-look, speak-before-you-think energy. He’s been like that since we were kids – got me into trouble more times than I want to remember, and usually all I was doing was watching.

So tonight, when Jesus got up from the table, tied on a towel and started to wash our feet, we’re all looking at each other, mortified – it’s Simon who put into words what a lot of us were thinking. “Lord, you’re gonna wash my feet? Think again!” Jesus just looked at him with that mixture of irritation and love he so often had for Simon, and said, “If you don’t let me wash you, you have no part with me.” But Simon doesn’t let it rest – he has to argue. Argue with our Master! On this night, above all nights. “Okay, wash all of me, then! Why stop with my feet?”

Jesus had an answer for him, of course. He always did. It was their game – Simon pushing as hard as he could, Jesus coming right back at him. How they loved each other. Love each other.

It was hard for Simon to submit to being cared for. Hard for all of us. When Jesus got to me, I didn’t want him touching my feet. They’re not pretty. They were filthy, as feet are in our time and place. But he focused on that task like it was the only thing in the world he had to do. He got them clean, he rinsed and dried them, and I just had to sit there and receive. I think that was the hardest of all the things Jesus has asked us to do in the three years since I met him along the banks of the Jordan. Just sit and receive his gift.

I didn't know that that’s all I would be doing for the next 24 hours – watching him give his life away for me, helpless to help him, nothing left for me but to receive his gift. And if I have trouble being this still and powerless, what on earth must my poor brother be going through?

How are you at receiving the gifts God wants to give to you? How are you at receiving care from others? It’s harder for most people to submit to having someone else wash their feet than it is to wash another’s (unless we’re paying for a pedicure…). Yet arguably our most important spiritual task is learning to receive the love and grace and power of God so we can share it freely with others.

So tonight, if you're going to a Maundy Thursday service (and I hope you are!) - push past your discomfort and allow someone to wash your feet, knowing it is Jesus working through them. It is in receiving that we learn how to give.

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