John
13:1-17, It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had
come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who
were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress,
and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray
Jesus.Jesus knew that the Father
had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was
returning to God;so he got up from the meal, took off
his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water
into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel
that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will
understand.”“No,” said Peter, “you shall never
wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash
you, you have no part with me.” “Then,
Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash
their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one
of you.”For he knew who
was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to
his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so,
for that is what I am.Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your
feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.I have set you an example that you should do as I
have done for you.Very
truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater
than the one who sent him.Now that you know
these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
I’d like to offer a ‘throwback’ post
regarding the sacramental nature of foot washing, found here.
But also…Love fiercely, with a heart of servanthood, to the end…That’s blessing…
The creation story has become the linchpin of many different
strains of theology.I have some
concerns about this, because I think it limits the understanding of the
vastness of our great God to what may very well be just the first ‘cycle’ of
things God ever did.I think it lends
itself to a lazy god who snapped his invisible fingers six times and then sat
down to watch the history of the world unfold.Personally, I care deeply about what happened on the 8th day…
and the 9th… and this morning… and every day in-between.These are important things to consider… to
discuss… but I admit that we cannot begin without a beginning.So…
Genesis
1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.Now the
earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and
the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (NIV).
John
1:1 “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (NIV).
The creation narrative is important, but I think we
sometimes get so caught up in the phrase “God
created” that we miss the Spirit, “hovering
over the waters.”
Scripture is important, but I think we sometimes get so
caught up in words that we miss the Word… Jesus… present at the beginning.
It’s Trinity Sunday, friends, and God, Spirit, and Jesus
have all existed in community from the start.We need to grasp that in order to understand the importance of community,
overall, as we seek to more fully be and become the people of God.To be created Imago Dei is to be created in
and for community.And to be created
Imago Dei is also to be co-creators… to work with God.
For more thoughts on Trinity Sunday, please enjoy this
podcast with special guest Craig Drurey, author of Relational Discipleship:
John
14:15-17, “If you love me, keep my commands.And I will ask the Father, and
he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the
Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor
knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (NIV).
So, it seems that I am going to lean far in one of two
directions, this week.I am vacillating
between the extremes of :
1.Personal
reflection born from exhaustion and frustration (in my defense, the daily
office is going to keep us in Job 38 for what seems like eternity).
or
2.What
would Disney say?
Today, you get “Disney enthusiast L”…
Although “The Lion King” has never been in my top 10 when it
comes to animated features (please don’t tell my seven year old, because this
revelation would be on par with heresy to her); it does contain one brilliantly
theologically loaded scene that blows me away every time I watch it.
“Grown up Simba” (as aforementioned kid calls him, because
it is apparently incredibly important to distinguish which era of Simba’s life
we’re referencing, at all times), has reached a point at which he is running
from everything—past, present, and future, really—in large part because he
feels abandoned by his father, Mufasa, and responsible for his death (it’s not
Disney if there are no dead parents…).At any rate, Simba is definitely at a crossroad, and the choice he
makes, moving forward, has the potential to affect not only himself but also
everyone he has ever known and loved.
Simba is running, precisely because he believes that he is
incapable of bringing healing and restoration to his home.In fact, he thinks he is culpable for all of
the pain and disaster that has already befallen his people (OK… his animals,
his pride, etc.), so they must surely be better off without him.Although there are moments when “Kid Simba”
acted purely out of self-interest; this decision has a different feel to
it.Simba is prepared to choose a lonely
life, on the run, to protect others.
It sounds kind of noble, except… he’s wrong… about so many
things… Principle among these is that he has forgotten who he is!
Well, through a strange series of events (and a crazy,
prophetic baboon), Simba does, indeed, remember that his father lives in and
through him, both by his spirit and reflection.We can all take a page from that book!
There are parallels that I love from the Scripture taken
from the Gospel of John.My favorite
parts include the realization that Jesus also lives in and through us, by the
Holy Spirit, and that this is a permanent arrangement—The Spirit of Truth, an
advocate, “to help you and be with you forever…”
But I also have some immediate concerns about this passage,
because I think we (as the Church) have often forgotten who we are, just as deeply
as Simba.
“If
you love me, keep my commands…”
It’s not a list of rules, Church.I’m not saying rules don’t matter (although,
I am, admittedly, a crummy rule follower), but when asked directly about what
matters most,
“Jesus
replied: ‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.And
the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”
(Matthew 22:37-40, NIV).
This is straightforward teaching, although certainly not
uncomplicated.Love God, love people,
love yourself, and everything else will fall into place.Yet it seems that we struggle with what love
looks like.
Returning to John, we read:
“The
world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.”
Look carefully, again, at this jump we make,
because I don’t think I’m the only one who does it:
“If
you love me, keep my commands…The world cannot accept him, because it neither
sees him nor knows him.”
This will never work if we continue to
delete the Spirit of Truth, if we refuse to dig deep enough to understand the
greatest commandments.I see
self-proclaimed Christians raging against the world, but sometimes I think we’re
the very ones who neither see nor know…Ouch!
We have forgotten who we are.
But there’s hope.May Rafiki hit us all on the head with his
stick, there’s still hope… Because somewhere back there in our past (however
near or distant), Jesus promised to send the Spirit.And if we could just take a good long look in
the mirror… or the lake… or wherever our reflection is most clear; maybe we
could see Imago Dei again.And maybe we
could get on board with the difficult, loving choices that take us further into
the world around us as opposed to running toward some elusive and exclusive safety
zone that is merely a figment of our imaginations.
It’s
overused quote time again.This is one
of my favorites:
“She knows who
she is. She just forgot for a little while.”
-Donald Miller
I’ve been there, friends.If I hadn’t, this
quote wouldn’t be one of my
favorites!
May we wake up and remember who we are.And just in case it’s still unclear, if our desire is to reflect God, who we are is love.
