LENT 5B –ALL SAINTS
The verse that struck me in today’s gospel is: ‘Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am. There will my
servant be also.’ This is the last thing Jesus says before he starts to talk about his death. It reminded me of
one of the last acts Our Lord id before he was arrested, tried and crucified.
On the Thursday before his death, the day on which he gave us the first Holy Communion, which we celebrate today
and every Sunday, he did something else. Before he took the bread and wine to bless them, Jesus took a bowl of
water and a towel and washed his disciples’ feet.
Washing his friends’ feet. That was an unheard of thing to do. Here was Jesus, their Lord and Master, washing the
feet of his followers. To wash someone else’s hands, let alone their feet, was the role of slaves. What the servants
did, not the master. And yet that was exactly what Our Lord did.
Immediately afterwards, he blessed the bread and wine and commanded us to do this in remembrance of him. And we
do, every Sunday. But I believe we should remember what he did before and do that every day.
Every Sunday we stand and listen to the Gospel being read. Before it is said, ‘Listen to the Good News..’ That
is exactly what Gospel means – good news. And, at the end, we hear, ‘This is the Gospel of Christ’, which means
"This is the Good News of Christ’. It is our duty, as Christians, to take that good news out into the world
and give it to others. How do we do that?
Well, we could go around with our Bibles, reading out loud about Jesus to everyone we meet, we could spend all
our time preaching the good news. But would that do any good? It might influence one or two people, but most would
just ignore us. There is a saying that it is no good preaching to someone with an empty stomach. That means that
is someone is hungry, mere words will not fill them up, they need real food, not just spiritual food. So what does
the Good news mean, and how do we tell it to others.
That’s where we have to turn to the Gospels, the Good News, and see the example Jesus himself gave us. He was the
good news. Everywhere he went, he showed people the good news by who he was and what he did, not just by what he
said.
Jesus knew the people he met, and he knew what they needed. When a woman in the crowd touched his clothes, he felt
it, even though he was surrounded with lots of people, he knew that there was one person there who needed something
from him at that moment.
The others had come to listen to what he had to say, but he took the time to be with that one woman and understood
what she was going through. She needed to be healed, not just physically but also mentally and spiritually. Everyone
said she was ‘unclean’ and would not go near her, she was an outcast in society. But Jesus touched her, healed
her and made her whole. He helped her to be acceptable again.
That is what feet washing is all about. It’s about being out in the world and being willing to get our hands dirty.
It’s about helping those who no one else wants to know. It’s about standing up for and speaking out for those who
the rest ignore.
I have spent three days, this past week, at a workshop. It was for members of all the churches in Swaziland and
there were representatives from the Council, Conference and League of Churches. They had gathered to look at the
problem of HIV/AIDS and what the churches should be doing to help. There was a lot of discussion and they decided
to set up programmes to teach people awareness about HIV/AIDS. On the whole it was a good conference and a lot
of progress was made.
Even so, I wondered what the Good News was to those who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. All of us know that
it is here – in our communities, in our churches and in our families. It is all very well to keep on having awareness
raised, we need to keep it in the forefront of our minds, but what are we doing? What are we doing to help those
who are sick at home, and their families, in the way of care? What are we doing to help those who are bereaved
and maybe facing the fact that they too are HIV positive? What are we doing to help the orphans and elderly who
are left behind, with no one to care for them?
I can’t help thinking about what Jesus’ reaction would be. Here on earth he was with those who society ignored,
that woman who was thought unclean, the lepers (who were thought of just as people with HIV today), the prostitutes
and the sinners. He was not welcomed in the synagogues, the church of his day, or by the religious leaders. Where
would Jesus be if he came back to earth today?
I believe he would be with the same sort of people – the prostitutes, the sinners, those who are living with HIV/AIDS
– the very people that society treats as outcasts. That is where Jesus would bring the good news, the Gospel, just
by being there. Surely that is where we should be the good news too, where we should BE.
Let us not forget that we are the hands and feet that Jesus has on earth today. If we are to preach the gospel,
then we must bring the Good News to everyone – but it must be the good news that Jesus showed us how to bring.
It must be for everyone and for their total wellbeing, not a judgmental thing.
Our Lord said that we had to follow his example and be servants of all. If his death is to mean anything in this
day and age, we have to follow his example and his command. If Jesus, our Lord and Master could kneel to wash his
followers’ feet, we can do no less.
Amen.