Read John 13:1-4. Circle the words that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
1 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.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 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.
Reflections on the Word
A church member in a rush passes by and says, “Pastor, you shouldn’t be washing pots and pans in the kitchen!” At times, I have seen a dear brother or sister in the church’s kitchen washing the dishes, pots, and pans by themselves. On this one typical Sunday afternoon after lunch, there were many people helping with bringing in the dishes and serving wares onto the kitchen counter, but there was only one person washing the dishes. She was working as fast as she could, but the dishes kept stacking up as she was by herself. So, I decided to help.
Have you ever volunteered without being asked to do something? Quite often, we may say to ourselves, “That’s not my job?” or we may just say to a dear sister, “Thank you, for cleaning up!” while out of the corner of our eye we piles of serving dishes, pots, and pans in the kitchen.
To be honest, rarely have I seen pastors or even elders at a church clean-up unless she or he was overseeing the facility. I don’t think that I have ever seen a pastor or elder serving in nursery. Do we even know who serves in nursery during the worship or Sunday School hour? Sadly, if it is out of sight, it is out of our minds.
The Apostle John writes, “so he (Jesus) got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.” Have you ever wondered why Jesus did this during the meal and not before the meal? Their sandals were already taken off and they were probably already reclining at the table. Certainly, Jesus could have continued enjoying the Passover Meal with their “dirty” feet in the guest’s home. At this point, it seems more of hassle to wash their feet.
What would you have done if you were one of the twelve men with Jesus that evening as you saw one by one entering the house with their dirty feet? You see Peter, James, and John, even Jesus walking in without washing their feet. The pail of water and towel were there, but the host and hostess were busy trying to get the meal out for them. What would you do?
When we see a dear brother and sister struggling and needing help, what do you do? Does someone have to ask you for help, or can you help without someone asking you?
-Kingston