Matthew 5:8 – ‘Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.’
At the Last Supper, when Jesus started washing the feet of his disciples, Peter objected to have his feet washed by his master. In the historical context of the time, it was unthinkable to think the master would wash the feet of his follower. Usually performed by slaves who would wash the feet of the guests, it was an act showing profound humility and hospitality, deeply embedded in their culture.
Let us look closer to what happened in this encounter. Jesus not only washed their feet, which was a common custom before the meals, but, he performed a ritual rich in meaning. By this humble gesture he not only exemplified servitude and love but also spiritual cleansing.
He responded to the apostle Peter’s objection with: “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
Feet symbolize a journey, they may carry a mark of the sinful journey, places we have been to, habits we have picked up, decisions we have made. By letting God wash us and purify us, we enter into communion with Him. Because we receive forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we are transformed more into His Image, and our lives become more beautiful as we are conformed to the life of our crucified Lord.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
However, the story doesn’t end here: The feet of the apostles that have been washed by their loving Saviour will soon be the feet spreading the good news of His Resurrection.
Let us seek in this Easter season to grow in purity and exchange our rebellious hearts for a heart that desires to honour God.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, You see all that is within me, all that is reflected in my thoughts, my words and my deeds. Search me, O God and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me.
I want the hidden places within me – the meditations of my heart – to be pure. Help me to look to you and change me more and more in your image so that I can become pure in thought, word and deed.
Psalm 19:14 ‘May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer’.
