Monday Meditation: His Final Days, Part 1: An example of service

The disciples were shocked. Here was their mentor and master, kneeling at their feet. They had heard him teach as others wondered at his words. They had seen his control of nature and his power to heal. They had stood in awe as he called a friend back to life from a days-old grave.

But now he had his face to the floor, fulfilling the role of a house servant, concentrating on the comfort and cleanliness of unseemly body parts. He was washing their feet.

Of all the events in Jesus’ final week on earth, none resonates with caregivers like this one. We, too, have held position or enjoyed success. And these days we, too, stoop to serve in ways we would never have predicted.

Our number includes presidents and executives and principals and directors: professionals in every field, experts in many subjects. We know how to decorate or cook or create or manage, and others have noticed. They admire us, ask us for advice, and listen when we answer.  

But now we are in the center of scenes we’d never imagined. There we are, face to the floor, cleaning unpleasant or inconvenient messes, kneeling to wash unseemly body parts, humbling ourselves to do what must be done. The same scenes play out again and again, day after day after day. And sometimes we’re surprised that our lives have come to this.

Jesus told his disciples his action should become a pattern for their relationships with each other. “Do as I have done to you,” he said simply, and we believe he’d say the same to us.

When we give ourselves to humble tasks, we can remember that Jesus did no less. “Slaves are not greater than their master,” he said. Perhaps we who call him master can see we’re becoming more like him, just by gladly tending to the requirements of caregiving.  

Read: John 13:1-17

Pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son, not only to show us the way to eternity but also to demonstrate how to live amid our challenges today. Help us to remember him as we serve.