Curious Last Supper Agenda
Jesus was certainly prone to some surprising and peculiar behaviors during his ministry years. We read his stories today and because of our familiarity with them, and our distance from them and first century Palestine, we don’t always see them as outrageous as they would have appeared in that day. One of the most surprising things that Jesus does, at least from my perspective, occurs on the evening before his torture and death. As we know, he gathers his disciples for a celebration of the Passover meal. It’s in John’s telling of the events of that evening that we find his absolutely shocking behavior.
“It was time for supper…so he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.” John 13:2-5
We all get, at least to some degree that in Jesus’ day the act of washing someone’s feet was not a pseudo spiritual activity practiced by Jesus movement hippies, but one of the most demeaning jobs reserved for the lowliest of servants. That Jesus humbles himself to such a degree as this, is in and of itself, outlandish but, that he does this on the night before he is to face unimaginable emotional, physical and spiritual suffering is astounding.
Our favorite “shoot first and ask questions later” disciple, Peter, of course protests: “When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.’ ‘No,’ Peter protested, ‘you will never ever wash my feet!’ Jesus replied, ‘Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.’ Simon Peter exclaimed, ‘Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!’” I wonder what Peter tells us about ourselves and our need to engage God on our terms rather than being fully present to the marvel and mystery he wants to bring to our lives? Jesus wraps up this humiliating first century activity with this explanation: After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” Of all the things Jesus could have chosen to place on the agenda of the last dinner gathering he would share with his closest confidants, why does he choose disrobing, kneeling and foot scrubbing? What is it about this activity that for him seems to most perfectly embody his message and outline the very reason for his incarnation? Why is this the final teaching, message, exhortation he leaves them with?
It is, I think, that it demonstrates the very core essence of the “Kingdom of God.” Richard Rohr suggests this rephrasing: “the Dream of God.” Jesus slips into flesh and blood to give us a three dimension full color exposure to the Dream of God. Of course, what they saw him demonstrate was not what they were expecting or hoping for. This was quite possibly why Judas, at this last dinner gathering, makes the final decision to turn Jesus over to the religious leaders. Some bible historians believe Judas was a member of the sicarii, a cadre of assassins among Jewish Zealots who were intent on driving the Romans out of Judea. Peter also seems dismayed with Jesus’ passive response during his arrest in the garden and decides Jesus needs a little inspiration and proceeds to flay his sword.
The Dream of God is not about power and domination but rather about compassion, humility, equality, justice and grace. It is about a counterintuitive behavior and a selfless response. The Dream of God is what the world would be like if we really made Him King and His ways our ways. The Dream of God, at its core, looks like foot scrubbing acts of humility and compassion in our everyday lives.
Jesus ends his final discourse with these words: “Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
I find it interesting that he says this is a new commandment. We know that he had a couple of encounters where he was asked which commandment was the most important. His emphatic response was: “love God completely and love others as you would yourself.” Is there something new about this particular articulation? It feels like it is somehow deeper because now they have witnessed his love firsthand and so they have a living, breathing illustration of what it looks like. Jesus demonstrates that loving each other looks like the act of humble foot scrubbing on the night before your worst day ever. Think about how selfless that act really is! This is the Dream of God, that we not only love each other – friend, family, neighbor, stranger, enemy – but that we do it in this way.
In the end, Jesus tells us that this is the way people will know that we belong to him – that we are in on his Kingdom and that we want to be a part of the Dream of God.
