By: Erin M Diericx and Pastor Brian Krause
Erin M Diericx says…
In the Old Testament, Lamentations the Israelites are given specific instructions as to when they are clean and unclean. As Hannah Armidon writes, the Israelite’s whole lifestyle revolved around “cleansing, remaining clean, and keeping from contamination,” because being unclean meant you had to be kept separate from your family and your community; you had to yell unclean if someone was approaching you. Being unclean meant you were also separated from God; you could not enter the temple; you could not be in God’s presence; you were cut off and separated. It was not until you would have to go through sacrificial rituals in order to be made clean that you were allowed to reenter society, to be touched by family members, to go to the market, and to be permitted to enter the temple and be in God’s very presence.
Paster Brian Krause says…
At the end of a period of uncleanness the people had to wash themselves and wash their clothes. This ceremonial act of washing meant that they were cleansed from the thing that had made them unclean. These ceremonial acts of washing are the precursor to Christian baptism, which washes us clean, not just for a moment, but for all time.
Erin M Diericx says…
Being unclean sounds a lot like what we doing today by practicing social distancing and staying home. When we meet up with a friend, even with six feet apart, you cannot help to wonder, do they have the coronavirus; are they clean or unclean?
Paster Brian Krause says…
I certainly felt that doing simple ordinary things, like going to the post office to mail something or going in to Lowes to pick up an order. You look at the people all around you and you wonder if any of them are carrying the virus. We are suspecting everyone as being unclean in this time.
Erin M Diericx says…
When Jesus washed his disciple’s feet, it has several meanings. On one level, it symbolized the master, the teacher served are servants, the students. It is an awkward moment where Peter tries to stop Jesus as if to say, “No, let me wash your feet…” but Jesus stops Peter and explains it is more than just washing your feet; its means more. So Peter says, “Then wash my whole body.” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean” John 13:10 NRSV. Washing someone else’s feet is more than making their feet physically clean, but the act makes their hearts, their souls clean before God.
Paster Brian Krause says…
This text plays with several meanings of clean and unclean. Of course we have the basic dirty feet being cleaned by Jesus, but Jesus also speaks of spiritual cleanliness. Jesus says to Peter, “One who has bathed has no need to wash, except his feet. You are clean, though not all of you.” Jesus tells Peter that he is clean, not just physically clean but also spiritually clean. The one who is not clean at this dinner is Judas Iscariot who had already made up his mind to betray his lord.
Erin M Diericx says…
Jesus is taking the place of our sacrifices in order to make us clean in the eyes of God. We no longer have to yell unclean, unclean, unclean, but we can greet each other with Christian love, hope, and faith. We are able to be in a relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and be in his presence at all times. This is a message of hope for the individuals who have loved ones in the hospital and cannot be them physically, because they can rest assured that God is with their loved ones; he is holding them and hearing their petitions; when they are actively dying and when they ultimately die, God is with them and is welcoming them into his kingdom. This is the Christian hope that is timeless and never fails.
Paster Brian Krause says…
When Jesus washed his disciples feet he was taking on the form of a servant and doing what the servant would do. Jesus then tasked us with lowering ourselves and serving one another. Today especially we are seeing this in the first responders and medical personnel who are putting their lives on the line to save others.
Erin M Diericx says…
Maundy Thursday is probably my favorite service. A few years ago I washed the feet of the members of my congregation. There was a profound moment where the members were being served by the needy, a disabled individual who needs personal cares to function as a human being. The paradigm of “master” serving the “servants” was truly present then and even now as well as two thousand years ago. It is an act of submission to the will of God; to be his voice and body in the world. We serve God and each other, and we are served by God and others; the first will be last, and the last will be first.
Paster Brian Krause says…
On the night before Jesus went to the cross for us all he gave us a new commandment; that we should love one another as Jesus has loved us. This love, the love to which Jesus calls us is not just having nice feelings towards other people. Jesus tells us that we should love others the way he loves us. We should seek not to exalt ourselves over others, but humbly serve. We should seek not to save ourselves at all costs, but to willingly give ourselves away in service to our neighbors. What Jesus calls us to do is not easy, but it is the way that we share the gospel with the world, especially in these dark days.
Erin M Diericx prays…
O Lord, this Holy Week is a bit different than we can remember. We pray for all those who are sick, on ventilators, and actively dying. We thank you for the small blessing in knowing you are with all those who are dying and sick. We pray for angels to protect our loved ones and us during this time. We pray for your wisdom and peace. We pray all these things in your holy name, amen!
Music: Stay with Me by Bleibet Hier from Joy on Earth, recorded in Taize