Main news for 24 November 2022

In our day, the washing of feet in some churches and communities sometimes turns into something like a kind of mystery symbolizing humility and service. Yet in Gospel times there was nothing mysterious or unusual about it. In Palestine at that time people wore open shoes on bare feet, and at table they did not sit but reclined on special couches, so washing one's feet in that situation was just as necessary as washing one's hands. Most often a slave specially assigned to this task washed the guests' feet; if there was no such slave, the guests did it themselves: in the courtyard by the entrance there usually stood vessels of water intended for this purpose. Sometimes, as a sign of special respect for an honored guest, the master of the house himself could help such a guest wash his feet. This work was considered one of the least honorable, though it was absolutely necessary. And now, during the Last Supper, more precisely before it began, Jesus Himself takes it upon Himself. Such behavior was at least unusual: of all people, Jesus had no need to wash the guests' feet. But He does it, giving His disciples an example. The point here is not some special self-abasement: He wants only to make the apostles understand what true service is, when one does what must be done for God and for one's neighbors without thinking or caring about one's own status and prestige. It is no accident that Jesus decisively stops Peter's attempt to turn ordinary foot-washing into a kind of ritual washing: when the apostle asks his Teacher to wash not only his feet but also his hands and head, He refuses him, saying that there is no need for such a washing. The apostles have to accept that their Teacher takes on the work of a slave, dirty and unprestigious work. Meanwhile the Teacher gives them an example of true love and true humility.