Hope’s Last Words

Thursday April 1, 2021

Created by Mariah Mills

John 13:1–17, 31–35 (NIV)

“Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord — and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Devotion

A few hours before his arrest, the Hope of the world, Jesus Christ, washes the feet of his disciples. In 2021, that gesture might seem kind of odd, but during that time the act of washing someone’s feet communicated hospitality and welcome. After washing the disciples’ feet Jesus gives them a commission: to wash one another’s feet and to follow the example that Jesus had set for them. Later on, Jesus tells the disciples that their new command is to love one another as Jesus has loved them, and this is how people will know that they are Christ’s disciples. The last words of the Hope of the world are this: to practice humility and to love deeply. Christ calls the disciples to a life of sacrificial love and giving that acknowledges the humanity of all people, and welcomes all people into the Kin-dom of God. We too are called to step into humility and love deeply. When we serve and love one another, we can see the Hope of the world and the Kin-dom of God break into where we are.

Prayer

Good and gracious God, help us to find hope in this weary season. Amen.