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“He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet” (John 13:5).
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A week ago, Pope Francis made the headlines again.
Dozens of cameras captured the aging pope as he knelt down to kiss the feet of two men dressed elegantly in dark suits.
It was a strange – but meaningful – gesture.
They weren’t ordinary men.
For the last five years, they’d fought against each other in a brutal civil war that killed thousands of people.
Tired of the violence, they put down their weapons, deciding to build a unified government instead.
Once sworn enemies, they were now the president and vice president-elect of South Sudan.
Eager to support their efforts for peace, Pope Francis invited them to the Vatican for a two-day retreat – a retreat, which started surprisingly by having their feet washed with a kiss.
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Such a simple but humbling gesture was something the pope learned straight from Jesus.
In the Gospel, for example, Jesus kneels down to wash his disciples’ feet.
At that time, such a gesture was considered normal.
People didn’t drive on well-paved roads like we do today. They walked along dry and dusty paths, so it was common to catch a pebble or two in your sandal as you walked.
When guests arrived at person’s home, it was polite to wash their feet, because they were often covered with dust, cuts, and bruises because of the journey.
But is Jesus washing his disciples’ feet simply to be polite? Or is he sending them a stronger message?
It’s the last night of his life on earth. Surely Jesus isn’t wasting time on pleasantries.
Rather, this gesture of bathing bruised feet was intended to be deeply meaningful for them, as it should be for us gathered here tonight.
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Like the disciples, we’ve all journeyed on various paths in life, paths that are too often strewn with pebbles.
Anyone who’s walked a mile on this earth knows that life has a way of wounding us, of scraping our feet as we go.
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What are the pebbles caught in my sandal tonight? What experiences have wounded me, or worn me down? Where do I need to be healed by God?
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These are precisely the wounds that Jesus wants to touch, to bathe.
It doesn’t matter where we’ve been – what roads we’ve walked – Jesus is here tonight, ready to lead us back to God, because that’s where we belong.
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But remember his words that follow: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
That is, pour water over one another’s feet, because everyone’s had a pebble or two caught in their sandal; everyone has had their share of cuts and bruises from this journey called life.
Don’t judge them for it.
Bathe them with compassion and forgiveness, instead, just as Jesus does for us.
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As strange as it seemed watching Pope Francis kneel down to kiss the feet of men recently engaged in civil war, it was a reminder to all of us of our need to be agents of healing – not judgment – in our world today.
How might we be that agent healing – of reconciliation – at home, at work, at school, in the world?
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“As I have done for you,” Jesus says, “so you should also do.”
