Foot washing: Preparation for Christian Life
Mark Thiessen Nation
Why has the practice of foot washing fallen out of favor in the church?
Foot Washing: The Text.
- An optional Mandate The text is quite clear that we are to wash one another’s feet. The mandate is perhaps clearer than the mandate for communion.
- On perfume, the poor, and the politics of Jesus. Jesus, by his example of washing the disciple feet embodies the love and servanthood that we are called for.
- The presence of Jesus as foundation for redefinition.
- Intimacy and cleansing. We are uncomfortable with the intimacy of foot washing (as were the disciples). We are similarly uncomfortable with the washing away of our sins.
- Servant hood inspires faithfulness. By washing feet, Jesus places himself “wholly and unreservedly” in the service of mere mortals.
Foot washing and the new commandment. John 13 is an example of how to have community in Jesus Christ.
FOOTWASHING: A STORY. A story from the author’s childhood how foot washing shaped his personal walk with God.
FOOTWASHING: AN UNCOMMON PRACTICE. IT is uncommon because it is intimate and inherently messy.
FOOTWASHING: AN ADEQUATE PREPARATION FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.