Humility & Hospitality

The story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet is a familiar one.

But it is one that is difficult for us to completely understand because there is no modern cultural equivalent to foot washing.

In first-century Judea, the standard for footwear was sandals and roads were unpaved.

So, during the course of a normal day—especially the day of a teacher and his students wandering the countryside, teaching and healing—during those long days of walking, feet became quite dirty.

So, having a place where you could remove your sandals and clean your feet—that was an act of hospitality.

Having the host wash your feet was an act of extravagant hospitality.

Many churches incorporate foot washing into their Maundy Thursday service.

Even the pope washes feet on this day.

Foot washing can be a very powerful spiritual experience.

But, because we lack that first century cultural context, it can become entirely about humility.

Now, to be clear, humility is very important.

Humility is gift of the Spirit.

It is a sign that we have been transformed by faith—that we have evolved beyond our egocentric self-perception.

It is important to be humble.

It is important for us to humbly remember that all we have is a generous gift from God.

It is important for us to humbly remember to whom we belong—who calls us by name and claims us as their own.

It is important for us to humbly remember that we NEED God.

Jesus is a shining example of humility—of surrendering oneself to God.

We raise Jesus up as a model of servant leadership.

If you’re not familiar with the term, servant leadership is a management style that prioritizes the needs of the employee—or, in Jesus’ case, the disciple—over the needs of the leader.

If it helps, you can think of it as teambuilding on steroids.

The role of the leader becomes facilitator—making sure everyone on the team has what they need to succeed—and cheerleader.

The success of the leader becomes reliant on the success of their team.

In the twentieth chapter of Matthew, we read, “Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest. And anyone among you who wishes to be first must serve the needs of all, as if enslaved—just as the Chosen One came not to be served but to serve, and to die in ransom for many.”

So, clearly, humility is a characteristic we ought to aspire to.

We should be willing to serve others.

We should recognize that nothing is “beneath us”.

But when foot washing becomes all about humility, it becomes one-dimensional.

It loses the equally important context of extravagant hospitality.

Emanuel is a loving congregation that prides itself on being welcoming.

Of being a place of hospitality.

Unfortunately, we find ourselves living in times when the outside world is not welcoming.

For so many people, our country has become downright inhospitable.

Immigrants—and no longer only undocumented immigrants—are being detained and deported without due process.

Political dissidents—people exercising their first amendment rights—are being persecuted.

Transgender individuals’ very existence is being denied.

Transgender children are being prevented from accessing gender-affirming care—and their parents are being accused of child abuse and threatened with prosecution.

Make no mistake—this kind of marginalization and oppression are tools of empire.

Marginalization and oppression demonstrate neither humility nor hospitality.

So, what does it mean for us, as a congregation, to be an island of welcome in a sea of inhospitality?

The fundamental ideas behind Jesus’ washing his disciples’ feet are more important than ever.

We must be humble—and extend extravagant hospitality.

We must humbly admit our own privileges—whether they be privilege of race, class, gender, or sexuality.

We must humbly admit that we cannot understand other people’s life experience—and we must acknowledge that those life experiences matter.

When Jesus healed the hemorrhaging woman, he knew her experience of isolation.

And how that isolation made her desperate.

When he healed her, he did not question her desperation.

He showed her compassion.

He healed her.

And he restored her to community and cured her from her isolation.

If you fail to see the parallels between the people Jesus healed and the current scapegoats of our government, you’re not paying close enough attention.

We must humbly admit that we cannot change the course that our country is currently on without God.

But so must we also realize that we have a role to play.

In the words attributed to St. Augustine, “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not”.

There’s a paradox in there that can sometimes be hard to see past.

When we say we need God to straighten out this mess that we’re in, it doesn’t mean we sit back and wait for divine intervention.

It means that we look to the words and the actions of Jesus to guide us.

It means that we look for the Spirit to work in our hearts and our minds.

And, grounded in our Christian faith, we look for the examples of Jesus and the work of the Spirit to inspire us to action.

And, please understand—that action will be different for each of us.

How we react in these times will depend on our gifts and our callings.

For some of us, it will be direct action—organizing activities that counter events that we believe are contrary to our Christian faith.

Protests.

Demonstrations.

Letter writing campaigns.

Voter registration drives.

For others, their actions will be confined to their immediate community.

Supporting the people they know and love.

Educating their friends and families about important issues.

And for still others, it will be about simply adopting a welcoming posture.

Being open to all people—including those who are different than them.

Listening.

Reveling in the diversity of God’s creation.

Reflecting God’s unconditional love—that we receive in abundance—back out into the world.

And through all of it, being guided by Jesus’ example of washing his disciples’ feet.

And God’s other gesture of extravagant hospitality.

God’s welcoming us to God’s table of forgiveness.

Rich or poor.

Black, white, red, brown, or yellow.

Whatever our gender.

Whatever our expression of sexuality.

Whatever language we speak.

Whatever our country of origin.

However we perceive that we are different from each other.

We all possess the divine image of God.

God sees each of us with the same eyes—the eyes of a loving parent.

That loving parent that always includes us—always welcomes us.

All are welcome to commune at God’s table.

In today’s second lesson, Paul writes, “For every time we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim Jesus’ death until Christ comes.”

We proclaim Jesus’ message that the Kin-dom is near.

That God’s justice is coming.

In proclaiming Jesus’ death until Christ comes:

May we accept the call to be humble—just as Jesus was humble when he knelt at his disciples’ feet.

May we accept the call to extend extravagant hospitality—just as Jesus washed and dried his disciples’ feet.

And may we accept the call “go and do likewise”—by loving and caring for our neighbors.

May this meditation on God’s word keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus. Amen.