Loving God's Wife

Jesus was celebrating the Passover dinner with his disciples.  Somebody forgot to hire a slave woman or gentile to wash everyone’s feet.  So Jesus got up, wrapped a towel around his waist (a symbol of slavery, by the way), and washed his disciples’ feet (John 13).  This was unprecedented in history.  According to one biblical scholar, no literature of any culture prior to Jesus depicts someone of stature embracing the lowly form of a servant in such dramatic fashion.  It was unheard of.  After he was finished, he told the disciples that this was how they were to serve each other.  He went on later to say that in loving each other this way, the world would know they were Jesus’ disciples.

The indicator to the world of being a Jesus follower was loving others in humble service.

At a recent training event I attended I was challenged and humbled with a particular idea: I will strive to create the church I would want to attend.  Automatically.

So, I started thinking about CrossWalk Community Church.  Guess what?  CrossWalk is a church I would want to attend!  We are culturally relevant, and thoughtful in our approach to biblical interpretation and application.  We are becoming more and more a community service center where people can find help for their lives.  We are diverse in terms of education and economics, and are certainly open to as much ethnic diversity as is reflective of Napa.  We are committed to making an impact locally and globally through the missions we support.

Our toughest area we need to address is also the most important: foot-washing/toilet-scrubbing community.  Loving each other fully.

This is counter-intuitive in our church culture which lifts up outreach as the highest value. Jesus’ new command to love each other seems prone to self-and-church-centeredness which has been a root cause for many churches to decline, implode, or just fade away.

The kind of love about which Jesus was referring wasn’t about simply being polite with one another.  Foot washing required Jesus to deal with the crud of life.  Gortex had not yet been invented.  Most people wore open-toed sandals.  Sewer systems weren’t very advanced – all manner of filth could find its way between your little piggies as you trekked through your day.

I don’t think Jesus wanted us to get stuck on literal foot-washing.  But I am certain he wants us to love each other enough to point where we really help each other with our crud.  The reason this is the thing that identifies the disciples is twofold.  First, servanthood is always surprising in a world driven by egocentric forces.  Second, in being help and in helping others with their junk, we become more whole, more redeemed, more saved, and more like Jesus.

The only way we can get and give help with our crud is by being vulnerable with each other.  The only way we can be vulnerable with each other is if we learn to trust each other more.  The only way we can learn to trust each other is by spending more time with each other.  And the only way we can spend more time together is if we say no to other things that demand our time that are simply not as important.  The issue isn’t that we’re too busy – we all have 24 hours each day just like the disciples did.  The problem is that our lives get filled too easily with stuff that really doesn’t do much for us, which means it may actually be getting in our way of that which can make us more whole, and may give us an opportunity to help someone else become more whole – a tremendous honor.

Who are you helping with their crud?  Who is helping you with yours?  What’s the hardest part of both sides of the crud equation?  How is God calling you to respond to Jesus’ command to love one another?