by Steven Norris
How have you journeyed the road to the cross this Lent? Early on, I opted for a visual devotional to guide me through the 40 days — meditating on images over words. Jessica Claire Bond is a digital artist from New Zealand, and her series of images depicting foot washing has garnered some attention over the past couple of years. In the images shared on social media, one sees Jesus kneeling before a person on a stool, washing their feet.
The recipients are, at times, shocking. Alongside the obvious depiction of Peter, we find images of modern-day business folks in suits, a bride in her wedding dress, Adam and Eve donning their fig leaves, a mother cradling her child, a police officer, an inmate in a jumpsuit, a protester holding up her sign, a Muslim woman, an alcoholic still clinging to his bottle, a man holding a rainbow flag, and on and on. After receiving some pushback on whether her images were sacrilegious, Bond stated, “It’s not about who’s on the seat; it’s about Who’s washing the feet.”
This week, as we reflect on the events of Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples, consider the personalities of those before whom Jesus knelt.
Jesus knelt before Judas, washing the feet of the one who would betray him with a kiss less than 24 hours from then. Taking his thirty pieces of silver, Judas chose greed over fidelity to his rabbi — a decision that haunted him until his very last breath.
Jesus knelt before Nathanael, washing the feet of the one whose prejudice was on display when he first heard about Jesus of Nazareth. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” he asked.
Jesus knelt before Levi (Matthew), washing the feet of one who was seen as a betrayer of his people. Tax collectors were known to collude with Rome in oppressing their own people and often padded their pockets by skimming off the top.
Jesus knelt before Peter, washing the feet of the one who would deny that he even knew Jesus on three separate occasions before the rooster crowed. Bold in speech, Peter often found his actions lagging behind in fidelity.
Jesus knelt before Thomas, washing the feet of the one who would express doubt at the report of Jesus’ resurrection. Not only did Jesus wash his feet, but he also returned a week after the resurrection to give Thomas the physical assurance he neededin order to believe.
Jesus knelt before Simon the Zealot, washing the feet of one known to be associated with a group of domestic terrorists. The Zealots were not afraid to resort to violence in an attempt to overthrow the Roman occupiers and secure Israel’s freedom.
Jesus knelt before James and John, washing the feet of the very apostles who had been arguing with one another on the road about who was going to get the place of honor in Christ’s coming kingdom.
In short, there was no one who was disqualified from receiving Jesus’ love and mercy. Washing feet was an extension of who he was and the kind of counter-cultural leadership he called his followers to imitate. After all, “it’s not about who’s on the seat; it’s about Who’s washing the feet.”