The surprise of washing feet

Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.

He was their Lord, Master and Creator, and he kneeled down before them and washed their dirty feet.

When he was done, he gave them a command: "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another's feet."

His command contains a surprise. You would think that he would say, "I have served you, now I want you to serve me."

That's what is often preached in church. God has done X for you, now go and do Y for Him. (Even gratitude is placed in that light.)

But that is not what Jesus says.

I have done it for you - now go and do it for someone else. The movement is horizontal. Because Jesus has washed my feet, I go and look for someone else whose feet need washing.

It does, of course, come back to Jesus in the end. "Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me".

If you have lost contact with God, or don't know exactly what He wants you to do, maybe this will help.

Go look for a pair of dirty feet.