Washing of Feet

[JudgeNot]

"You call me `Teacher' and `Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
John 13:13-17

I could only find one short reference to this in a post from Sower in December under Bible Study/The War Against Sin.  I find it an interesting subject.

Do any of you observe the ‘washing of feet’ in your church?  I know the Church of the Nazarene as well as some others observe the custom as regularly as they do communion.  I’ve never attended a church where it is custom.  What do you think?  Jesus plainly says “I have set you an example that you should do…” just as He told us to “Do this in remembrance of me…” which is the basis of our communion.

[Jabez]

John 13:7
Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know (1)hereafter.

1-Hereafter meaning verse 12-17?Or something deeper?

Thats intersting you bring this up,i just read that today.I also noticed this verse which i have posted john 13:7.I dont fully understand it yet.

[Allinall]

What do you think?  Jesus plainly says “I have set you an example that you should do…” just as He told us to “Do this in remembrance of me…” which is the basis of our communion.

I think you've struck the necessary chord there Brother.  One is by example, the other is by command.  One deals with our relationship to one another, the other deals with our relationship to Jesus.  In one, we serve, which is the heart of the example.  In the other, we remember the service given us.  I therefore don't believe the washing of feet is an ordinance, but rather an example of the believer's daily dealing with his brothers and sisters in Christ.  But, I don't necessarily think those that do so are inherently wrong.  There's no harm done in observing this.

[Reba]

 

[JudgeNot]

Gee, Reba - you have a beautiful smile...

[ollie]

Here is a reference to washing the saint's feet in verses concerning widows.

1 Timothy 5:9.  Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man.
 10.  Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

[sincereheart]

I have heard of other churches doing that as well..... The one that comes to my mind is the Primitive Baptists. While I agree that it isn't harmful, I often wonder if the Body wouldn't be better served by doing a modern equivalent, instead.....
The washing of the feet was a service because it was needed at that time. I was under the impression that Jesus was saying, in essence, don't think you're too good to do what's needed.....
 

[sincereheart]

Found this on the internet....

Footwashing as an ordinance of the Church today?

By Mama Bear
.
FOOTWASHING:  A reader speaks out.  I've never cared much for empty gestures and meaningless rituals. I want to know why I'm doing a thing. I need a reason.

Certain churches have a regular footwashing ceremony. Many say footwashing makes them "feel so humble." But if you don't scrub the toenails and dry between the toes you're not really washing feet, you're only pretending. Pretending to wash feet, and pretending to be humble.

To make the ritual easier in some churches women leave pantyhose on. A lot of good that does! A splash and a dab with a towel don't do a thing. It's more pretense. The Bible tells us we are to act on what we know, not what we feel. Humble people don't feel humble. They don't think about feelings. Those who try to "feel humble" are hovering on the edge of pride.

I've been accused of pride because I don't do footwashings. Yet I've washed someone's feet when it was necessary. And I didn't feel humble, I felt useful. I've cleaned, cooked, tended kids, done laundry, stripped paint and wax, hung wallpaper, sewed, even removed floor tile with a sledgehammer. It didn't make me feel humble. I felt hot, tired, and dirty. But I was helping someone in need, not looking for good feelings. When I washed the feet of a black woman in the hospital after her surgery it wasn't to feel humble but to be helpful. She couldn't do it herself. After my surgery she covered my phone while I slept. Fair trade.

It's true Jesus washed the feet of the disciples and told them to wash one another's feet. But every word Jesus spoke to His disciples wasn't meant for all people of all time. We must consider the cultural context. In His day people walked miles on hot, dusty roads in sandals, and they were not Birkenstocks. A foot bath was an act of hospitality, much like our custom of serving a guest coffee or tea or a cold drink. Besides, footwashing was commonly done in the home not the temple.

Today we have Subarus and shoes and showers and soap. It makes no sense to remove shoes from already clean feet and let someone wash them with the stockings still on and call it spiritual. Instead of trying to work up a feeling of humility why not do something useful? Visit the sick and lonely. Take someone a casserole, homemade bread or cookies for the children. Entertain the kids for an hour and give a busy mother a welcome break. Wash a friend's car or mow the grass. These simple deeds mean much more than a ritual foot bath and are not half as messy. And the good feelings come afterward.

http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/tlamb/Snip2.htm#ritual

[JudgeNot]

Mama Bear sounds like a stay-at-home mom in the highest order.

[cris]

Jesus practiced what He taught. Even He humbled Himself.  Feet are the filthiest part of the body (at least that's what a podiatrist said).  They're bacteria laden.  I think Jesus was saying that we are to attend the needs of others regardless of how humbling they may be.  I think footwashing is symbolic of this.  He knew times would change, and 2000 years hence, it would no longer be customary.  So, I guess it's safe to say footwashing is symbolic of humility.  Nothing like being redundant!  It was a necessity in Jesus' day.  

What parallels with footwashing today that we'd rather leave for others to do?

[sincereheart]

Mama Bear sounds like a stay-at-home mom in the highest order.
ROFL!  You could always add some macho elements to offset the mom ones!   Like *deep voice here* changing the oil of the elderly, fixing that porch step, adding a ramp for the wheelchair.....

*hopes voice isn't stuck*


What parallels with footwashing today that we'd rather leave for others to do?

Good question!  
 

[ollie]

Jesus practiced what He taught. Even He humbled Himself.  Feet are the filthiest part of the body (at least that's what a podiatrist said).  They're bacteria laden.  I think Jesus was saying that we are to attend the needs of others regardless of how humbling they may be.  I think footwashing is symbolic of this.  He knew times would change, and 2000 years hence, it would no longer be customary.  So, I guess it's safe to say footwashing is symbolic of humility.  Nothing like being redundant!  It was a necessity in Jesus' day.  

What parallels with footwashing today that we'd rather leave for others to do?

This may not parallel with washing of feet.
There is something today that we give others to do that in most situations we could handle if we adjusted our lives to it. That is housing feeding and caring for our elders, our parents. This task is many time given to a "nursing home" where they vegetate and are placed in the hands of the ungodly..

[JudgeNot]

AMEN Ollie!
I wish my parents were still around for me to take care of - I sure miss them.

[Willowbirch]

Mama Bear sounds like a stay-at-home mom in the highest order.

I like her.  

If you put a piece of garlic in your shoe (I don't know people who do this, but it can happen...) the sole of your foot absorbs the essence, and pretty soon you have garlic breath...sounds scary, when you think of where those feet go...

I do not condemn public foot-washing, if it serves the purpose of uniting believers more strongly, and reminding them of the sacrifice and duty laid on them by God. But the grumpy old woman inside me says it sounds silly   and I would be very uncomfortable if our church performed this ritual.