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Good morning, I'm Melissa Arseniega and I'm part of the North Berkeley Tuesday Night Community
Group.
Tuesday's, today's, scripture reading is from the Gospel according to John, chapter 13,
verses 1 through 17, as printed in your liturgy.
It was just before the Passover festival.
Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon
Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God
and was returning to God.
So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them
with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
Lord, you are going to wash my feet?
Jesus replied,
You do not realize now what I am doing,
but later you will understand.
No, said Peter,
you shall never wash my feet.
Jesus answered,
Unless I wash you,
you have no part with me.
Then Lord,
Simon Peter replied,
not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well.
Well, Jesus answered,
Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet.
Their whole body is clean.
And you are clean,
though not every one of you.
For he knew who was going to betray him,
and that was why he said,
not everyone was clean.
When he had finished washing their feet,
he put on his clothes and returned to his place.
Do you understand what I have done for you?
He asked them.
You call me teacher and Lord,
and rightly so,
for that is what I am.
Now that I,
your Lord and teacher,
have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another's feet.
I have set you an example
that you should do
as I have done for you.
Very truly I tell you,
no servant is greater than his master,
nor is a messenger
greater than the one who sent him.
Now that you know these things,
you will be blessed if you do them.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you.
Thank you for that scripture reading, Melissa.
Good morning, Christ Church.
My name is Andrew.
I'm one of the pastors here.
It's good to be back.
I am thankful to the session of elders at our church
for allowing me to go on vacation last week.
But I miss you guys,
so it's good to be home,
even though we did enjoy our time in Seattle.
We got to visit Megan Wong.
Some of you remember her.
It was nice to see her,
stay with her and catch up.
But yeah, it's good to be here.
I'm looking forward to bringing God's word to us today
from this super famous passage
about the foot washing Jesus.
So will you join me in prayer
as we come before God?
Lord God, we want to hear from you.
We want to understand this picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ
wrapped in a towel, on his knees,
washing the feet of his disciples.
Would you so impress this upon us
as you clearly impressed it upon your servant, John,
as he conveyed this picture to us?
And would it make us different kinds of people?
People so affected
by your sacrificial, servant-hearted love for us.
Help us to see and savor
the good news of Jesus this morning,
we pray in his name.
Amen.
All right, we're continuing
through John's Gospel
this second Sunday of Lent.
We are on our way, right,
to the cross of Good Friday
and to the empty tomb of Easter.
And though for us,
Good Friday's still, you know,
more than a month away,
where we are in John's Gospel today,
where we're going to be
for the next couple of Sundays
is in this upper room
around a dining table with Jesus.
We're now at the Last Supper,
just hours before Jesus' betrayal
and his murder.
As it says in verse 1,
Jesus knew that the hour had come
for him to leave this world
and go to the Father.
Now as we enter into this upper room,
it's important that we understand,
that we feel the weight,
the gravity of this moment for Jesus.
So try to imagine
the emotions that you might feel,
the thoughts that you might have
if you knew you were about to die
in 24 hours.
How would you choose to spend
the last couple hours of your life
if you knew the very hour
that you would die
and how you would die
by crucifixion?
Imagine none of us here
has experienced that firsthand.
The closest thing that I could think of
was a sequence of scenes
from the movie Just Mercy.
Anyone seen Just Mercy?
Michael B. Jordan,
he's the man.
He plays the lawyer,
Bryan Stevenson,
and he's a lawyer
who defends people
unjustly put on death row.
And the scenes I'm thinking about
are the scenes leading up
to the execution
of one of his clients, Herb.
See, Herb is one of his clients
whose death sentence
he was not able to overturn.
And the movie takes us
through these moments,
through these minutes,
right before Herb's execution.
And they just do such a great job
of making us feel
how bizarre it is to be on death row.
How bizarre it is to know
that death is knocking at your door.
Herb says,
most people don't get to sit
and think all day
about it being their last day alive.
And everything is heavy,
and everything is sad,
and everything is even awkward.
There are no words
that seem to be right and fitting
between Herb and his lawyer
and his cellmates.
Even his guards don't know
what to say to Herb,
or they don't know
what to do with themselves.
They find themselves
treating him more nicely
than they've ever treated him before,
and yet they also can't
look this guy in the eye.
Herb says,
it's been a strange day.
More people asked
how they can help me today
than ever asked
in my whole life.
And it's because everyone,
even the people
about to execute Herb,
they feel the weight
of his life
just about to be extinguished.
And nothing can be normal.
Nothing can be right
in these last moments.
Now, toward the end
of these scenes,
Herb begins to walk
down the hall
from his waiting room
to the room
where the electric chair is.
And he begins slowly,
even compliantly,
walking with the guards.
And they're like,
you know,
politely ushering him there.
It's so bizarre.
But then as he gets closer,
his body just goes limp.
And you get why that is, right?
Because how can he just
willfully walk
toward an electric chair?
And then it's just excruciating
to watch.
You're pulled in
as a viewer,
to imagine yourself
in Herb's shoes.
There's this overwhelming
sense of empathy
that you feel for him
as you watch the scenes unfold.
The sense of like,
how could anyone
conduct themselves
normally or nobly
or intentionally
knowing that death
is just a few minutes away?
And all the awkwardness,
all the heaviness,
the way Herb just falls over
and goes limp.
It's all so uncomfortable
and yet at the same time,
it all makes complete sense
because death
is literally at his door.
And nothing about this
can be okay.
But now here we are
in John chapter 13
at the Last Supper of Jesus
in the final hours
leading up to his
gruesome death,
which he knows is coming
and which he knows
will be upon a cross.
And yet we find a man
who's composed
and who continues
to live a noble,
beautiful, measured,
and deliberate life.
He doesn't sulk
or hang his head.
His body doesn't go limp
and listless.
He doesn't surrender
to helplessness
and hopelessness,
nor does he make it
all about himself
and demand, you know,
the special treatment
and the sympathy
that are due to him
as a man who's about
to lose his life.
He knows exactly
what he wants to do
with the last hours
of his life.
And so characteristic
of Jesus,
what he wants to do,
even knowing that he was
about to depart
from the world,
he doesn't give up
on the world
or forsake the world.
What he wants to do
is love his people.
He wants to love his people.
As it says in verse 1,
knowing that the hour
had come for him
to leave the world,
having loved his own
who are in the world,
he loved them
to the end.
He loved them
to the end.
Don't you love that?
That Jesus is a God
who loves his own
to the very end.
Or in the Greek,
he loved them completely.
He loved them perfectly.
Like he didn't just love them
temporally to the end
of his life,
but he loved them
unto the end
for which they were created.
He loved them
with a perfect love
that made them whole
and complete
before God.
This is how Jesus chose
to spend his final hours.
He continues
his deliberate lifestyle
of love and service.
He chooses to be
a living picture,
an illustration
of God's perfect
and perfecting love.
Will you look with me
at verses 4 and 5?
At this famously vivid picture
of Jesus.
Verse 4 says,
Now,
to understand
what's going on here,
the depth of what Jesus
is doing here,
and how this is
such a powerful illustration
of his perfect
and perfecting love,
his humble,
serving love.
We have to talk about
feet for a second,
all right?
We're going to talk
about feet for a second
because, you know,
like, I don't know
how many of you
have participated
in foot washing things,
but I have,
and honestly,
it was more funny
than deep.
Maybe just because
I'm immature.
I just remember
maybe my feet
getting tickled,
or at one time,
one of my best friends,
he had to wash my feet
and I'd been playing
basketball all day
and he just got hit
in the face
with the pungent smell,
right?
But that's, like,
not what this is about.
Okay, so let's talk
about feet
in a Middle Eastern context.
Now, to us modern
Western people,
feet are just feet,
right?
Maybe not the most
attractive part
of the human body,
but still really
just feet.
But what we have
to understand
about the Middle Eastern
culture is that feet
are almost seen
as inherently impure
and unclean
and shameful
and unholy.
Like, being trampled on,
being stomped on,
or having someone's
heel or shoe,
like, come against
your head in particular,
that is the ultimate shame.
That is the ultimate
dishonor.
That's why in the beginning
of the Bible,
Genesis chapter 3,
after Adam and Eve
have fallen,
what does God foretell?
He foretells
of the offspring
of the woman
crushing the head
of the serpent
with what?
His heel.
His heel, right?
Or that's why
one time an angry
Iraqi journalist
threw a shoe
at President Bush.
Or when Saddam Hussein's
statue was toppled,
people, crowds
gathered around
and they beat
the statue
with their shoe.
The ultimate dishonor.
Or like when Paul,
when Paul talks about
how, when he says,
how beautiful are the feet
of those who bring
the good news
about Jesus,
it's meant to be
a crazy statement.
That the gospel of Jesus
is so powerful,
so amazing,
so transformative,
it can even make
dirty, filthy,
shameful feet
beautiful.
Alright, so that's
what you have to understand
about feet
in this context.
And hopefully that can
help us understand
why washing people's feet
was just an utterly
dishonorable,
shameful activity,
maybe even a futile
activity in their eyes,
only reserved
for the lowest of low.
I mean,
Jewish rabbis,
Jewish masters
wouldn't even subject
their Jewish servants
to this foot washing
activity.
It was just too
dehumanizing,
too shameful.
But see,
the thing is,
someone had to do it.
Remember,
they're in a borrowed room.
Who knows if any
Gentile servant
is present?
The gospel accounts
seem to give the impression
that probably only Jesus
and his closest companions
were with him
in these last hours,
right?
So who's going to do it?
Who's going to step up?
Surely they wouldn't
go a whole night,
eat a whole meal
without washing
the dirtiest parts
of their bodies,
right?
So imagine the scene.
Here's the scene.
Imagine everyone reclining,
okay?
It's not like that famous
Leonardo da Vinci
Last Supper painting.
They're all leaning in
like on mats
toward the table
and their feet
are pointing outward
away from the table,
all right?
That's the scene
right here.
And of course,
no one sees themselves
as the one
who is supposed
to be washing
everyone else's feet.
In fact,
quite the opposite
in Luke's gospel account,
what does he tell us?
They're actually quarreling.
They're debating
who is the greatest
among them.
Who is going to sit
at Jesus' right hand?
Who's going to be
the secretary of state
to the Messiah,
the vice president?
They have no thoughts
of washing
one another's feet.
They're debating
who is the greatest,
who is the least suited
to wash
everyone else's feet.
And so of course,
no one is even thinking
about taking on this role
as the foot washer
until Jesus,
their rabbi,
their lord,
gets up from the table
and literally
takes on the form
of a servant.
He dresses down
to the outfit
of a servant,
taking off his outer garment,
pretty much like stripping down
to his undershirt
and his boxers,
and he wraps a towel
around himself.
And he pours water
into a basin.
He gets on his knees
and does what no
self-respecting Jewish man
would ever do.
And we gotta believe
that at this sight,
all of the jaws
in the room
just dropped
seeing what Jesus
was doing.
This eternal word
of God, right?
The I am who I am,
the Messiah King
on his knees,
taking the feet
of his disciples.
And remember,
these feet were
largely exposed.
They only wore sandals
back then.
Largely exposed.
People only wore sandals
on dusty roads
in these agrarian societies.
Maybe these feet had walked
closely to animal droppings.
They're probably all cracked
and crusty and calloused
like mine.
But he takes these
very filthy feet
into his hands.
These same hands
that he's about to eat with.
These very hands
that it says in verse 3
that God put all things into.
He uses these hands
to wash his bickering
disciples' feet.
And just picture this.
Jesus kneeling
before each of his disciples.
The towel around him
getting filthier
and filthier.
Picture the great
I am who I am
wrapped in a towel
covered in dirty smudges
like all around him.
To quote a Syrian bishop
from the 5th century,
he who wraps the heavens
in clouds
wrapped around himself
a towel.
He who pours water
into the rivers
and pools
tipped water
into a basin.
And he before whom
every knee bends
in heaven
and on earth
and under the earth
knelt
to wash the feet
of his disciples.
And this is supposed
to blow our minds.
Because what kind
of a Lord,
what kind of a Messiah,
what kind of a God
does something like this?
It certainly blew
Peter's mind.
Look at verse 6.
He came to Simon Peter
who said to him,
Lord,
are you going to wash
my feet?
Verse 8.
No, said Peter.
You shall never
wash my feet.
In the Greek,
never ever into
all eternity
shall you ever
wash my feet.
This is not the kind
of Lord Peter wanted.
This is not the kind
of God Peter
could even believe in.
Peter didn't want
a Lord who would
wash his feet.
And certainly not a God
who would stoop so low
to wash his feet.
In Peter's mind,
being both Lord
and foot washer
was completely
incompatible.
This is not what
the Lord does.
This is not what
Yahweh does.
This is not what
you do if you are
the most powerful,
most honorable,
most holy, holy, holy
God of the universe.
In Peter's mind,
you cannot be God
and a servant.
In Peter's mind,
you cannot be holy
and come into contact
with the filthy feet
of sinful men.
But see,
even as the whole
gospel account of John
has been filled
with very,
very powerful
demonstrations
of the divinity,
the deity,
the godness of Jesus.
And it's like,
boom, boom, boom, right?
The power and authority
of God revealed to us
in Christ everywhere.
Boom, water into wine.
Do you believe yet?
Boom, the man born
blind from birth.
Do you believe now?
Boom, Lazarus last week
raised from the dead.
Surely you must believe
that Jesus is God now
for who else but God
can do any of these things?
Even as John
has gone to such great lengths
to demonstrate
who the Almighty I am
is in Christ,
John wasn't done there
with the power
and the miracles.
Because see,
the beauty of the gospel
is that there is more
to who God is
than his mere power
and holiness
and transcendence.
Yes,
that is all
that he ever had to be.
The holy,
holy,
holy one.
The Lord God almighty.
I am who I am,
but let me say this again.
The beauty
of the gospel
is that there is more
to who God has chosen
to be for us
than simply a powerful,
holy,
and transcendent Lord.
Think about it.
Why is it?
Why is it that
John's gospel account
is the only one
that tells the story
of Jesus washing the feet
of his beloved disciples?
Well, it's because
John wants to make
very clear
that the word
who was with God
and who was God,
the light and life
of the world,
who was in the beginning
and who made all things,
he is also
a God
who became flesh
and came near
and in contact
with sinful humanity
and this broken
and cursed world
in order to wash
our feet
like a servant.
And not only
to wash our feet
and wear a dirty towel,
but to do the ultimate
act of humble service
that this foot washing
pointed to,
to cleanse us
of our sins.
How?
To die naked
on a cross,
wearing and bearing
nothing but the sin
and curse
and shame
of the world
in order to put
death to death,
in order to remove
our sins
and bring the reality
of new life
into this broken world.
That's what he means
when he says
in verse 7,
you do not realize
now what I am doing,
but later
you will understand.
When we read
of Jesus
taking off
his outer garment
and getting down
on his knees
to wash his disciples'
filthy feet,
we are to read it
with the echo
of Paul's words
to the Philippians.
Christ Jesus,
who being in very nature
God did not consider
equality with God
a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself
by taking the form
of a servant.
And being found
in human form,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient
to the point of death
even death
on a cross.
This is the gospel.
This is the gospel
that in Jesus Christ,
God has chosen
to reveal himself
to us
as both
God
and servant
without compromise,
without contradiction.
This is the gospel
that in Jesus Christ,
mighty power
and humble
sacrificial service
are not at odds,
but in perfect harmony.
Look at how Jesus
takes off his garment,
wraps himself in a towel
and washes his disciples' feet
and then in the very same scene,
he gets back up,
he puts back on his garment
and then he says
in verse 13,
you call me teacher
and Lord
and rightly so.
He is not confused here.
There is no tension for him.
He is both God
and servant
with no contradiction.
And it is of
the utmost importance
that we hold
both of these truths
tightly
or else we will never
grasp the greatness
and the uniqueness
of the one true God
of the Christian scriptures.
You see,
if we only ever believe
in an almighty,
all-powerful God
who has not chosen
to also be a servant,
we will always
only live
in fearful
and maybe even
in dreadful
and resentful
submission to him.
Unfamiliar with God's
tender compassion
and the costly
and sacrificial love
which he has generously
poured out upon us
and pursued us with.
But see,
if we only ever believe
in God
as a servant
and not the
holy, mighty,
I am,
creator of the universe,
then he is nothing more
than a means
to an end.
A magic genie
in submission
to us
and thus no
true God at all.
In fact,
if he is only
our servant,
that would make us
gods.
And do I need
to convince any of us
that we all make
for poor
and terrible
gods?
But see,
the beauty of the gospel
is that in Christ,
God is both
God and servant
without contradiction.
And though it might
be hard to believe
and accept,
sure,
it sure was for Peter,
though it might be
hard to accept
that the perfect
and perfecting love
of God
is the love of God
who is,
of a God
who is also humble
and a sacrificial servant,
though it might be
hard to accept
that this is the truth
that changes the world.
This is the truth
that transforms
everything.
Now,
how and why
this changes everything
requires some explanation.
Like,
why is it good,
why is it even necessary
to have a humble
and sacrificial servant
be our God?
Well,
look with me
at this exchange
between Jesus
and Peter.
Peter's like,
no,
never,
ever,
not in all eternity
will you wash my feet.
In Peter's mind,
the Lord
should not wash his feet.
Peter could wash
his own feet
or maybe someone
he believed to be
lower than him,
like a slave,
a Gentile slave,
someone with less power
and prestige,
they could wash his feet,
but not his Lord.
Never,
Lord.
Peter does not understand
what Jesus tells him
he will later understand.
So Jesus has to insist
and says in verse 8,
unless I wash you,
you have no part in me.
And what he's saying
is Peter,
not in all eternity.
Really,
Peter?
You really have no idea
how filthy you are,
do you?
Sure,
you got it right.
I am the,
I am.
I am the Holy One
of Israel,
the Lord God Almighty.
But let me ask you something.
If the Almighty
does not wash
your feet,
who will?
And who can?
Who can blot out
the deepest stains
of your sin?
Who can fully remove
your shame?
Do you think
you can wash it all away?
Do you think
you can wash
your own filth away?
Do you think
some powerless slave
will wash your filth away,
make you white as snow,
approachable
in the very presence
of God?
You think you can be
united with God
and have a part in me
with anything other
than a God-grade
cleaning?
Peter,
don't you see?
Don't you see?
You need a God
who is a servant
and you need a servant
who is a God.
This is what Jesus
is getting at
when Peter still
doesn't understand
and says in verse 9,
oh hey,
I need you to wash
my hands and my head
as well then.
Jesus is saying,
bro,
you already had a bath
before you got here.
This is not about
how many of your body parts
are physically clean.
Peter,
it's not about you.
It's not about
checking boxes.
It's not about
outdoing everyone else
and having the most
body parts washed.
Me washing your feet
is not about you.
It's about me.
It's about me
being a servant,
the servant God
that you need
to be cleansed
of your filthiest filth,
your shameful sin.
What Jesus is communicating
to his disciples
and what John
is trying to communicate
to us
in his detailed account
of Jesus' last hours
is that we all need
this God
and servant,
Jesus Christ,
to cleanse us
of our sins.
We all need
this God
and servant
to blot out
the dirt
and grime
that we've collected
upon ourselves
by participating
in the world's evil
and darkness.
And I know that
as soon as I start
talking about this,
our need to be cleansed
of sin,
many of us
might get uncomfortable,
right?
Because,
oh,
this sounds so spiritual,
so abstract,
so esoteric,
right?
Or maybe it frightens you
like,
oh,
typical religion.
Typical religion,
always trying to do away
with these evil things
that some random people
have arbitrarily deemed
as sins.
Probably just another
social power play.
And if you'd like
to talk about that
more in depth,
Jonathan is available,
I'm available,
our elders would love
to talk to you
more about this sin stuff.
But for the sake of time,
could I just suggest
one thing?
Just one thing.
Could I suggest
that if we don't accept
this notion of sin,
which is so central
to the Judeo-Christian
understanding of the world,
if we don't accept
this notion that we
and this world
have been infected
and afflicted
and also are complicit
with the world's wickedness,
if we don't accept
this understanding of sin,
then I'm not sure
if we could ever understand
or experience
the gracious
and transformative love
that we all want to believe in
in this world either.
because what is a love
that costs nothing?
What's that kind of love
actually worth?
Think about it.
So much of what is past
for love these days
is actually just
objectifying infatuation,
contractual relationships
fueled by self-interest.
I'll love you
and stay with you
as long as I'm getting
what I want
out of this relationship.
You can use me
and I'll use you
until we find each other
no longer useful
to each other anymore
or until one of us
breaks the relationship
by sinning against the other.
But what if the essence
of transforming
gracious love
is not that feeling
of attraction
but a commitment
to stay
and endure
and forgive
and pursue
even in spite
of sins
committed
against ourselves?
Does anyone remember
that song
from Hamilton?
I'm looking at you, Robbie.
I know you love that.
It's quiet uptown, right?
Alexander Hamilton
has grievously sinned
against his wife, Eliza.
He's cheated on her
for several years.
His family has been extorted
because of this affair.
He's prioritized
his political career
above the needs
of his family.
And you could also
make the case
that his political quarrels
were what led
to his firstborn,
Philip's death
in that duel, right?
And these sins
of Alexander Hamilton,
they leave both him,
they leave his wife,
they leave his whole family
broken in every way, right?
If you see him
in the street
walking by himself,
talking by himself,
talking to himself,
have pity.
He is working
through the unimaginable.
His hair has gone gray.
He passes every day.
They say he walks
the length of the city.
You knock me out,
I fall apart.
Can you imagine?
Then all of a sudden,
Hamilton's there
with Eliza
and he's,
what,
he's seeking reconciliation.
He knows that he doesn't
at all deserve it.
Look at where we are.
Look at where we started.
I know I don't deserve you,
Eliza,
but hear me out.
That would be enough.
If you see him in the street
walking by her side,
talking by her side,
have pity.
He is trying
to do the unimaginable,
to receive forgiveness.
He's trying to do away
with his sin,
but he's not in control
of that.
He's trying to receive
forgiveness for his sins,
but it all depends
on her response,
whether or not she can
muster that kind of love,
whether she will be willing
to bear the cost
of his sins.
And she contemplates
this as she sings,
there are moments
that the words
don't reach, right?
There's a what?
There's a grace
too powerful to name.
We push away
what we can never understand.
We push away
the unimaginable.
And then all of a sudden,
she's made her decision.
And they're standing
in the garden,
Alexander,
by Eliza's side.
She takes his hand,
this filthy hand,
that had caressed
another woman,
and that had spent
most of its time
writing more political treatises
than love letters
to her or her family.
She takes his hand,
right?
It's quiet uptown.
Forgiveness.
Can you imagine?
Forgiveness.
Can you imagine?
They're going through
the unimaginable.
Forgiveness
is not cheap.
Forgiveness
is unimaginable.
And that is the gospel.
Is this not beautiful?
Isn't this the
unimaginable grace?
forgiveness
and forgiveness
of sins?
Isn't this something
that you want to believe in
if you don't
presently believe in it?
Isn't it the thing
that you love to imagine?
Well, this is what
Jesus offers us.
By cleansing us
of our sins,
it's free.
He takes this job
on himself.
He doesn't just say,
you can be cleansed,
here's how to do it.
He says,
you can be cleansed
by my blood.
I'll do it.
I'll get up.
I'll take my clothes off.
I'll wrap the towel around.
I'll get my hands dirty.
I'll come near your shame
and your filth.
It's free.
We just have to admit
and acknowledge
that we are filthy.
That we need a God-sized,
God-standard cleaning.
We have to admit
that we have done
what was once unimaginable.
We rebelled against our Maker.
We've done shameful things
we ought not have done
against Him,
against others,
against ourselves,
and we have also shamefully
not done
what we ought to have done
for Him,
for others,
and for ourselves.
While the disciples
may have been embarrassed
for the Lord Jesus
to take His holy hands
to their nasty feet,
while the disciples
may have squirmed
at the thought
of the Lord Jesus
so closely examining
what they believed
to be the most filthy,
shameful,
and unclean parts
of themselves,
Jesus met them there
at their filthy feet
in love
and in tenderness,
and He wants to do
the same with us.
And this is the Gospel.
Jesus wants to do
the same with us.
He wants to meet us
precisely where
we feel most ashamed
and dirty
and impure
and unclean.
He wants to reach out
His hand
toward our selfish greed
and our addictions
to alcohol
and sex
and porn
and our jobs
and our phones
and Netflix.
But He doesn't reach out
with a heavy hand
to condemn.
He reaches out
with a tender hand
and the ability
and the desire
to wash us clean.
Wash us clean
precisely because
He is the suffering
servant God
that we need.
He is the older brother
who is willing
to go down
and wash
his younger brother's feet
and put shoes
on those stinky
pig feet.
Washing away
the deep stain
of sin in our lives
by His blood.
That's what He's about.
The payment for our sins
with His blood.
Friends,
this is the God
we need
and this is also
the God
we never deserved
but it's the God
who is graciously
offered to us
in Christ.
The only kind of God.
The only kind of love
that's going to make
a difference in this world.
That's going to save
this world.
That's going to usher
in new creation
and change our lives
and make us
the kinds of people
that we all
want to be.
So to close,
will you listen
and consider this question
Jesus asks
in verse 12.
He says,
Do you understand
what I have done
for you?
If our God
is a servant
and has served us
with the perfect
and perfecting love
of Christ,
how then shall we
who are made
in His image
live?
What might a community
so convinced,
so moved
by the perfect
and perfecting
love of the
suffering servant?
What might we
look like?
A people
freed by the gospel.
A people
who have
had a Savior
come to them
and meet them
in their most
shameful,
filthy place
and say,
I still love you.
I want you to be
a part of my family.
What kind of freedom,
what kind of safety,
security,
and confidence
do you think
a people like that
might have?
And what kind of fruit
might such a church
bear
in the city,
in the world?
Now at the risk
of getting too
practical,
maybe even sounding
self-serving,
I have some ideas
of what that might
look like.
If you're looking
to serve
particularly in this
church,
we would love that.
Jonathan is about
to go on his
sabbatical,
end of April
to end of August,
all right?
And we're looking
for all the help
we can get,
but not just to get
help,
but because this
is discipleship.
This is what it
means to walk
in the way
of Jesus.
Talk to me.
Talk to our
assistant director
of ministry,
Maria Francis.
Talk to our
director of operations,
Jesse Chewy.
There are plenty
of places to serve,
whether on our
care portal team
supporting foster
families,
tutoring Oakland
students at
Harbor House,
facilitating laughter
and connections
outside on our
hospitality team
during coffee time,
teaching or mentoring
our Christ Church
kids,
or youth,
preparing these
elements,
chopping this bread
up,
pouring out wine
on our communion
crew,
being up there,
clicking through the
slides,
helping with the
sound.
Maybe you're
interested in being
a deacon and
learning how to
care for others,
how to pray for
others,
how to counsel
others in this
congregation.
Please let us
know.
We would love to
empower and equip
you to serve in
the footsteps of
our foot-washing
Savior.
So I want to
close with these
last words from
Jesus in verse 15.
He said,
I have set you an
example that you
should do as I
have done for you.
Now that you know
these things, you
will be blessed if
you do them.
Christ Church, let
us be a blessed
people who know
the perfect and
perfecting love of
Jesus Christ.
You pray with me?
Lord, we all know
deep down that what
it's going to take
to change this
world, to make it
what you want, is
love.
The love of Jesus
Christ.
And we want to be a
people who bear
witness to that
perfect and
perfecting, humble,
sacrificial, servant
love.
But we have to be
moved by this love
toward ourselves
first.
So will you
convince us of the
filthiness of our
feet?
And would you
astound us that the
Savior has come
near to our filth and
our impurity?
And he has washed us
clean, white as snow.
Transform us with that
truth.
Make us the people you
want us to be.
and make a
difference through us
in this world to the
glory of your name and
for the good of our
neighbors we pray.
Amen.