Try to imagine this scene. You are sitting at the table with Jesus and his friends on the night before he died. A confusing sorrow overshadows you; yet, a mysterious hope has settled in your heart. Suddenly, Jesus is standing in front of you. He looks into your eyes and immediately you are filled with an awareness of your tremendous worth.
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Supper was special that night
There was both a heaviness and a holiness
hanging in the air
We couldn't explain the mood
It was sacred, yet sorrowful.
Gathered around that table
eating that solemn, holy meal
seemed to us the most important meal
we had ever sat down to eat.
We were dwelling in the heart of mystery
though dark the night
Hope felt right
as if something evil
was about to be conquered.
And then suddenly
the One we loved startled us all
He got up from the table
and put on an apron.
Can you imagine how we felt?
God in an apron!
Tenderness encircled us
as he bowed before us.
He knelt and said,
"I choose to wash your feet
because I love you."
God in an apron, kneeling
I couldn't believe my eyes.
I was embarrassed
until his eyes met mine
I sensed my value then.
He touched my feet
He held them in his strong brown hands
He washed them.
I can still feel the water
I can still feel the touch of his hands.
I can still see the look in his eyes.
Then he handed me the towel and said,
"As I have done so you must do."
Learn to bow ~~ Learn to kneel.
Let your tenderness encircle
everyone you meet
Wash their feet
not because you have to,
because you want to.
It seems I've stood two thousand years
holding the towel in my hands,
"As I have done so you must do,"
keeps echoing in my heart.
"There are so many feet to wash,"
I keep saying
"No," I hear God's voice
resounding through the years
"There are only my feet
What you do for them
you do for me."
by Macrina Wiederkehr
taken from Seasons of Your Heart
