The solemn Maundy Thursday foot-washing ritual reminds us that in humility the purposes of God are established. It is a potent symbol of servant leadership.
One of Dermot Doogan’s delightfully irreverent songs is entitled “Bishop for a Day”. Some of the words go :
There’s just one other thing that must be said : in the Church there are the leaders and the led.
I’m the bishop, don’t forget it; know your place, you won’t regret it.
You’re the arms and legs and feet, but I’m the head.
The words remind us of the long-established human tendency to power and privilege at the expense of human well-being, or of the purposes we are appointed to fulfil. We see examples
in :
- efficiency drives in corporate life which make thousands redundant, destroy basic dynamics of trust and commitment within an organisation, and often make short-term gains at the expense of the long-term well-being of both company and community
- the current (1999) scandals in the Olympic Games hierarchy, where people seem to feel that the appointment to a position of responsibility is really a ticket to privilege and all manner of perquisites and freebies
- in the Church today I detect at times a neo-authoritarianism in some of the clergy – one on TV the other night, for example, who said that because he was the Rector he had the power to tell people what was going to happen, and did not need to follow normal procedures of decision-making and financial approvals
- our collective abuse of the environment, despoiling God’s gift to us in Creation. The words of a Canadian Indian challenge us in this regard : “This land fed us all even before the white people came up North. To us she is like a mother that brought her children up”.
In contrast to such abuses of human power, Jesus offers us a different paradigm: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. From this develops a concept of leadership as service. The servant leader is not one who seeks to exercise power over others regardless of the impact upon them, but rather uses his/her power to achieve the well-being of others, and to work in partnership with them for the well-being of the whole.
Tonight’s service in which we re-enact the action of Jesus in washing the feet of his disciples symbolises this concept of leadership as service. We call today Maundy Thursday : ‘Maundy’ comes from the Latin ‘mandatum’, which means ‘command’. Jesus said: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
The act of foot-washing symbolises the unity which loving service engenders between all members of the Body of Christ, and ultimately the unity of all living beings, and the earth itself. It also foreshadows Christ’s coming death on the Cross, for the purpose is the same – to show the humble and sacrificial love of God for us, and to call us into the same love for others.
The life of Jesus, and this symbolic act of foot-washing, reminds us that power is not something to be held on to at all costs, or to be used to lord it over others. Rather power is to be shared so that it empowers others, gives life to others, helps others find true fulfilment as sons and daughters of God, and to reach that wholeness which God wills for all.
At the 1998 Lambeth Conference there was a moving drama as the reds fought the greens symbolically with swords and staves. One by one different members fell to the ground “dead”. After some minutes the lights went down and it was “night”. Only two of the actors remained alive – one red and one green. They put down their weapons and settled down to pass the night. One had matches and lit a fire. The other had food which the two shared together. They talked for most of the night, sharing their own lives and background, talking of family and friends, expressing their hopes and dreams for the future. When “morning” came they leaped up, reached for their weapons and prepared to continue the battle. But they were strangely disempowered, and at last one said to the other : “My brother, now I have heard your story I can no longer fight you”.
The drama and its message was particularly powerful because it was set in the context of the Genesis story where Jacob wrestles with God’s angel at the ford of Jabbok, and says : “Truly, I have seen God face to face”. Next day Jacob has the fearful task of going to meet Esau to make amends for stealing his elder brother’s birthright. Jacob approaches Esau with manifold gifts in reparation, but finds Esau already surrounded by great riches and in a mood to forgive his penitent brother and be reconciled. Jacob, overcome with emotion by this unexpected forgiveness, says to Esau : “My brother, to see your face is like seeing the face of God”.
Here we discern the deep essence of the Maundy Thursday drama. We know that divisions between those of us who think ourselves to be “up and running” and those we consider “down and out” are entirely superficial, for truly the experience of Christ’s love is shared freely with all. We discern also that when we truly know one another, including those from whom we feel most deeply estranged, we are set free to forgive and to be reconciled with all the brothers and sisters God gives us as neighbours. Our attitude to others becomes one of self-giving love, willing to wash their feet as Christ washed the feet of his disciples.
This truth lies at the heart of the Maundy Thursday drama, and we see it lived out again with deeper sacrifice as we contemplate Christ on Good Friday’s cross. May it be in the same spirit of Christ’s boundless love for others, and in fulfilment of his Maundy, or mandate, that we humbly wash the feet of others, and graciously accept their washing of ours.
To Discuss
- In a world where humility is often construed as weakness, how can we serve others without being seen as a doormat?
- In what ways might we “wash the feet of others” in our personal relationships, workplace and community?
