Service

"Be alert to give service. What counts a great deal in life is what we do for others" (anonymous).

I have a lot of fondness for the "peculiar people" among whom I was raised. The Brethren -- and other Anabaptists among them -- do things differently on occassion, and it is many of those things that set them apart that I appreciate now more than ever. Most notably influential in my life was the bi-annual observance of the Footwashing as a part of Love Feast, the three-part Brethren observance of communion.

I kid you not when I tell you that those experiences of washing other people's feet and having my own feet washed were profoundly influential in my nurture and development as a young follower of Christ. John 13 recounts the story of Jesus washing the disciple's feet, and there are fewer chapters in the bible that have influenced the way I live my life more than that one. Whether we believe Jesus' instruction to "do as I have done for you" is to be taken literally or figuratively isn't so much the issue to me, but his instruction to serve clearly is!

The washing of feet went out of fashion a long time ago, and I find it remarkable (and admirable) that there are still people who practice it as a part of their modern, Christian experience. Many people react negatively to this idea of washing someone else's feet, but I can tell you from experience that that's not the most difficult or uncomfortable part of the process. I can relate with Peter in how difficult (and humbling) it is to have other people wash my feet. To be served in such a way is not easy at all.

Washing and being washed are two sides of the same coin, really. It is just as important for me to admit my need and allow my brothers and sisters to come along side my life as it is for me to come along side of them. We need this mutuality! I admit that it is much more difficult for me to be transparent and open about my struggles and needs and to call out for help than to reach out and serve others in their need. I find little or no difficulty in walking with others through the muck and mire, but it is strangely challenging to have others getting dirty while walking with me.

"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

There is something to be said about how allowing others to serve us in our need builds community and friendship, love and trust like nothing else. The 1923 Brethren Pastor's Manual says that feetwashing is "love humbling itself for service...such a brotherly love that one is willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of making one's brother purer and better." There is no doubt in my mind that service of that sort and kind fosters love and sacrifice, nurtures humility and mercy, and brings healing and cleansing to both those serving and those being served.

Footwashing -- and its implication for life -- is one of the most sincere shapers of my Christian experience, and some of my most profound spiritual experiences have come through serving others and being served.

Both have cost me.

Both have brought me life.

Both are good and right.

There are fewer moments when I sense the closeness of God then when I am "washing another's feet" or "being washed" myself. In those sacred moments, the Spirit of God is present and the ministry is mutual.

We are serving Christ.

Christ is serving us.

We are serving one another.

"Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there..." (Jesus).