Trey Wince is the director of new disciples at the Annual Conference, and he shared a message to the Palisades clergy gathering a few weeks ago that has stuck with me. He told us about Ehud, a left-handed man with a withered hand that little was expected of. The guards seemed to not bother to check him thoroughly when he went before the king because they didn’t expect much from someone they saw as “crippled.” Yet, he was able to change the course of Israel’s history! Trey left us with a question: what is it that can be done in this season that you would otherwise not be able to do? This has lingered with me all the way through Holy Week. What can I do that I otherwise could not?
The question was especially poignant when it came to Holy Thursday. Our “mandate” to serve one another, just as Jesus served the disciples by washing their feet in the upper room, is something I really believe in. Some have argued that washing one anothers feet fits all the criteria of a sacrament – it is commanded by Jesus, he participated in it himself, and it is a channel of God’s grace. Every time I stoop down to wash someone’s feet, whether its other staff of the church or members of the congregation on Holy Thursday, I am moved and blessed in this humbling act. But the coronavirus has left something of a hole in our acts of service. We can’t be with others; we can’t touch their feet or serve in our usual ways of feeding someone, giving them clothes or offering prayer and a hug.
As I considered this problem for worship on Holy Thursday I was left with only one solution – my family. Usually my two little boys are asleep by the time Holy Thursday services begin. I have never once washed their feet as an act of service (I’ve only washed their feet to get mud and dirt off before bed!). But this year would be different. Emily had to care for our new six-week-old foster baby Rosie, so that left just me and my two boys. As we set up the cameras and I began explaining the meaning of foot washing, where the practice comes from and why we do it, I was blessed to be explaining it to my own children. As I took their shoes and socks off, and poured cold water on their feet (oops), the giggles and sacred whispers moved my heart. God was there in that moment. God touched my heart as I did something that never would have happened were it not for the coronavirus.
I know these times are challenging for many folks. The hardships are great for many, especially those who do essential work to keep the rest of us fed and healthy, but in the midst of it all there are also great opportunities. There are also things we can do now that we never could have done before. I invite you to be open to the possibilities God has for you in this season. I invite you to look closely for that act of love you can share with another person that, otherwise, you wouldn’t have time for, or space for. God is at work among us, even in these hardships. Let’s have eyes to see it; let’s be like Jesus who said shortly after washing the disciples’ feet, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Amen.
