Jesus, you loved us in the beginning
and you loved us to the end.
Even on the night you were betrayed,
you took a towel, and washed our feet.
We confess that we are reluctant to think of you
doing such a humble task, least of all for us.
Like Peter, we protest.
Today is a day unlike other days,
a Thursday of mysteries,
where we remember your final meal with your friends.
Taking a towel, you washed their feet.
Knowing what was to come,
and what you had to suffer,
you instructed them to love one another.
You told them, ”Peace I leave with you,
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid.”
The preparations are made in the city of Jerusalem,
in an upper room, for a meal,
the Passover meal.
The feet coming up the stairs are dusty,
they’ve travelled far for this meal,
the Passover meal.
The friends recline together weary and hungry
as the teacher begins the meal,
the Passover meal.
He looks them in the eye and tells them
that he has eagerly desired this meal,
the Passover meal.
When you arrived in Jerusalem
and the crowds gathered and cheered,
you gathered your followers in an upper room.
Were they expecting to hear a plan of attack
for the takeover of Jerusalem?
Were they expecting your master plan
for unveiling your power in the temple?
A holy reckoning where the wicked fall,
and the lowly are lifted up?
Whatever their expectations,
it didn’t have anything to do with dirty feet.
Judas is so easy to hate.
The betrayer, the snitch, the bad seed,
his name synonymous with treason.
No one cries when we hear he’s hung himself.
We all think, “Finally he gets what he deserves.”
Cast into the darkness of disgrace for all time,
who mourns for Judas?
But Judas was there from the beginning,
called like every disciple,
leaving behind everything to follow Jesus.
He was there in the boat, watching Jesus walk on water….
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.
I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com
Get regular resource updates and special announcements!
