Washing of the Feet

We have all had prayers and petitions we ask of God. There is a myriad of material things we seek, we also ask for guidance and patience and forgiveness... and the list goes on. It seems at some point within our eternal act of asking, that it will never end, our selfishness, our constant self-centeredness. But we only pause on that thought for a moment, until yet another "need" comes to mind and we quickly fire that prayer up there as well.  But that's okay, because God (Jesus) told us to ask right? Yes, he did in fact tell us..."ask and ye shall receive". Now I'm pretty sure that He wasn't necessarily referring to that fancy new car or the beautiful pair of Italian leather boots (boy do I wish He was though)...I'm sure He was referring to those prayers of deep, the desires of our hearts, the ones with clear motives and goodness at their core. Yes, those ones. The ones that are born of purity and selflessness, sometimes that come in a flash of a moment, only to be forgotten a short time after. The ones that take a passionate glimpse at our heart, only to be whisked away into the reality of our next moment. But yes, those special prayers, that we "know" He hears, and He answers.


So. I've had one of those special prayers answered this Holiest of nights. Today is Holy Thursday. In the Catholic Church we celebrate the Lord's Supper and the Washing of the Feet. As a returning Catholic a few years ago, I only recently re-learned of this special event in the church. As our priest explains, it is the time when Jesus washed the feet of all twelve apostles the night before he was betrayed. The activity of washing the feet is a two fold event. There are those who do the washing and those who receive it. No big deal right? Wrong!


It is usually very simple to serve others. We are ingrain to help others and to give them what we can. It is an entirely different thing to have someone serve you. A very humbling experience to say the least.


Most people will jump at the chance to have someone serve them. Bring us coffee, bring us food, serve our gas, pick up our dishes... this list is eternal also. The serving I am referring to is brought to you with humble hands and feet, with a heart of compassion, submission and love. On the receiving side, the gracious man/woman accepts someone to serve them only because they can humble themselves and allow the other person to do something nice for them. Service also comes with many different faces, husbands serve their wives, and wives, their husbands. To enable yourself to accept "help" (or service from someone) strips you of all pride. This is a much needed characteristic in our lives. It's referred to as "humility".


Someone so very special in my life, on bended knee, picked up a water jug and washed my feet tonight. On this Holiest of Thursdays, where our Lord knelt in front of His men, He humbled himself to wash the feet of others, thus as He did, it was done to me.


Today marks a day of shotgun blows to the ego (pride) and having more than one occasion where humility was required. The act of humility is one that is voluntary. It is not the same as being humiliated where this is not by your own free will, or choice. Humbling yourself in front of others, is a conscious act, that you must choose to do. You consciously make the choice that will fire another round at your ego, and eventually will leave your pride shredded and wide open.


I can't thank God enough and His blessed Holy Spirit, for answering my prayers tonight. For allowing me to wash the feet of the one I cherish most, but even more so for the gentle nudge He sent to him that brought us up to the altar to begin with. I prayed he would just take me by the hand, lead me to the basin, direct me to sit down and to drop my guard and allow him to serve me.


And it happened just like that. A prayer answered. Thank you God.


In Service,