“But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” Romans 10:14-15
Dirty feet. Clay feet. Two left feet.
But beautiful feet? How beautiful are the feet? Seriously? Are feet really that beautiful?
Feet are NOT my favorite. We try to cover up our feet – keep them in cute shoes and protected and out of sight. Feet can be dirty and stinky. We can feel vulnerable and uncomfortable about our feet. Feet are not the first thing we think of as the most beautiful of our body parts.
And yet this passage speaks of those who proclaim the Good News as having beautiful feet - as they walk the walk and talk the talk.
It’s almost Easter. Actually it’s Maundy Thursday. The day Jesus washed the Disciples' feet and showed us how to love one another. As we look forward to celebrating Jesus' death and resurrection and as we begin to prepare our hearts to celebrate all that Jesus did for us, we might notice the feet all around us.
14I am your Lord and Teacher. But I washed your feet. So you also should wash each other’s feet. 15 I did this as an example for you. So you should serve each other just as I served you. 16 Believe me, servants are not greater than their master. Those who are sent to do something are not greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, great blessings will be yours if you do them. John 13:14-17
In scripture, the Disciples would put one foot in front of the other as they tried to follow Jesus, we read the story of Mary of Bethany who washed the feet Jesus in an amazing act of worship, we watch as Peter would not allow Jesus to wash his feet, and we see a man who uses his own feet to pick up and carry Jesus’ cross. We see the Women at the tomb whose feet were some of the first to carry the Good News.
Finally, our feet will bring us to the foot of the cross. We cannot go any further. We cannot take another step by ourselves. And yet in this cross, we find Jesus. It is Jesus who takes on the weight of the world. It is Jesus who commits himself fully to God and the way of the cross. It is Jesus who loses life, only to gain it. It is Jesus who invites us to keep following, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when we don’t know where that might take us. It is Jesus who is there with us, offering grace and forgiveness and new life over and over again. And it is Jesus who invites us to the communion table, to renew again our commitment to walking in his paths, and to receive the grace and strength to keep walking.
When we walk forward to receive communion, even as we celebrate in our homes, it is a sign of our desire to follow Jesus and to use our feet to the glory of God. Our feet RUN to tell others the Good News of the Gospel.
Tonight, we will share communion in our homes or online and remember. We can’t meet together physically but the love of Jesus unites us in spirit and knits our hearts together. We will meditate on humility, love, service, and vulnerability. Let’s do it with the awareness that our feet have brought us to Jesus, the source of Good News.
Prayer
Father, we come to the foot of the cross. We come with our feet, like our lives, tired and dirty and desperately needing to experience the Good News. Wash us, prepare us, and help us to proclaim the Gospel. Let us enter into the story of Jesus, Let His amazing love and sacrifice meet together in our lives, and let us offer our hearts, our lives, our hands, our feet, every part of us into your care and service, for the sake of the Gospel. Teach us how to worship and honor you with all we have. Wash us and make us one with the body of Christ. Help us to let go of pride and power and offer ourselves in humble service. Help us come to know the liberating peace of being a servant. Holy Spirit, create in us the mind that was in Christ, to enable us to love and live just like He did. I pray we count our feet as beautiful – beautiful feet that bring the Good News to the world. Through Jesus, who humbled himself and poured himself out like water, we pray- Amen.
Beautiful Feet
I’ve been thinking about feet.
“But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” Romans 10:14-15
Dirty feet. Clay feet. Two left feet.
But beautiful feet? How beautiful are the feet? Seriously? Are feet really that beautiful?
Feet are NOT my favorite. We try to cover up our feet – keep them in cute shoes and protected and out of sight. Feet can be dirty and stinky. We can feel vulnerable and uncomfortable about our feet. Feet are not the first thing we think of as the most beautiful of our body parts.
And yet this passage speaks of those who proclaim the Good News as having beautiful feet - as they walk the walk and talk the talk.
It’s almost Easter. Actually it’s Maundy Thursday. The day Jesus washed the Disciples' feet and showed us how to love one another. As we look forward to celebrating Jesus' death and resurrection and as we begin to prepare our hearts to celebrate all that Jesus did for us, we might notice the feet all around us.
14 I am your Lord and Teacher. But I washed your feet. So you also should wash each other’s feet. 15 I did this as an example for you. So you should serve each other just as I served you. 16 Believe me, servants are not greater than their master. Those who are sent to do something are not greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, great blessings will be yours if you do them. John 13:14-17
In scripture, the Disciples would put one foot in front of the other as they tried to follow Jesus, we read the story of Mary of Bethany who washed the feet Jesus in an amazing act of worship, we watch as Peter would not allow Jesus to wash his feet, and we see a man who uses his own feet to pick up and carry Jesus’ cross. We see the Women at the tomb whose feet were some of the first to carry the Good News.
Finally, our feet will bring us to the foot of the cross. We cannot go any further. We cannot take another step by ourselves. And yet in this cross, we find Jesus. It is Jesus who takes on the weight of the world. It is Jesus who commits himself fully to God and the way of the cross. It is Jesus who loses life, only to gain it. It is Jesus who invites us to keep following, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when we don’t know where that might take us. It is Jesus who is there with us, offering grace and forgiveness and new life over and over again. And it is Jesus who invites us to the communion table, to renew again our commitment to walking in his paths, and to receive the grace and strength to keep walking.
When we walk forward to receive communion, even as we celebrate in our homes, it is a sign of our desire to follow Jesus and to use our feet to the glory of God. Our feet RUN to tell others the Good News of the Gospel.
Tonight, we will share communion in our homes or online and remember. We can’t meet together physically but the love of Jesus unites us in spirit and knits our hearts together. We will meditate on humility, love, service, and vulnerability. Let’s do it with the awareness that our feet have brought us to Jesus, the source of Good News.
Prayer
Father, we come to the foot of the cross. We come with our feet, like our lives, tired and dirty and desperately needing to experience the Good News. Wash us, prepare us, and help us to proclaim the Gospel. Let us enter into the story of Jesus, Let His amazing love and sacrifice meet together in our lives, and let us offer our hearts, our lives, our hands, our feet, every part of us into your care and service, for the sake of the Gospel. Teach us how to worship and honor you with all we have. Wash us and make us one with the body of Christ. Help us to let go of pride and power and offer ourselves in humble service. Help us come to know the liberating peace of being a servant. Holy Spirit, create in us the mind that was in Christ, to enable us to love and live just like He did. I pray we count our feet as beautiful – beautiful feet that bring the Good News to the world. Through Jesus, who humbled himself and poured himself out like water, we pray- Amen.