Introit (Psalm 67; Antiphon: Galatians 6:14)
St. John 13:1–15, 34–35
In the name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Poor Simon Peter. He can never quite seem to
get it right, can he? When Jesus asked, “Who
do you say that I am?” He boldly answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But just a bit
later Jesus told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things
from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third
day be raised. And Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not
setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Poor
Simon Peter. He gets things so right and also so wrong.
Now Jesus, Peter, and the other
disciples are in the Upper Room. It is the night when Jesus would be betrayed,
the night when Peter would deny Him, but still Jesus loved them to the end. So to demonstrate that love, He took up the
job of the servant and washed His disciples feet. But when He came to Simon
Peter He got an objection again: “Lord,
do You wash my feet?” Peter thinks he’s being humble, right? Who is he to
have the Lord wash his dirty feet? But when the Lord offers to do something for
you or to give you something, who are you to correct Him? Really, Peter is
being quite boastful. His question becomes another rebuke: “You shall never wash my feet!” Now, why didn’t Peter object when
Jesus washed the other disciples’ feet? If Peter is so humble, why didn’t he
jump up, grab the basin and towel and start washing their feet? Is he too good
for such a lowly task? Luke’s Gospel tells us that even during this last supper
with Jesus the disciples were still arguing about who is the greatest, boasting
about their qualities. No doubt, Peter thought he was the greatest. And
perhaps, Peter even thought “The others might need this foot washing from
Jesus, but not me. I’m not so bad as them. I certainly don’t need it enough to
sit here and be embarrassed while the Master washes my feet.”
Jesus’ response here doesn’t
sound quite so harsh as His previous, “Get
behind Me, Satan!” but it is no less damning: “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.” So Peter
exclaims, “Lord, not my feet only but
also my hands and my head!” It is good, but almost comical, how quickly
Peter changes his mind. Poor
Simon Peter. Even when he’s right, he
gets it wrong. Jesus replies, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but
is completely clean. And you are clean.” Peter’s desire for Jesus to give him a bath comes from good
intentions, but he’s still trying to tell Jesus what to do. It would be better
if Peter simply received what the Lord wanted to give. Peter’s coming around, but he’s still confused.
Jesus told him, “What I am doing you do not
understand now, but afterward you will understand.” After what? After
Jesus’ cross and resurrection. After Peter’s denial and forgiveness. Only the cross and resurrection of
Jesus can make sense of everything else He said and did. Only the knowledge of sin and forgiveness that comes from the
cross and resurrection can make sense of everything for us. Only after Jesus dies, rises, and restores Peter to the fellowship
of the disciples, can Peter truly understand the Lord’s service and stop boasting
in himself. Only after that can Peter
truly sing the Introit with us: Far be it
from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Then Peter can let Jesus serve
him, not only by washing His feet, but also by dying for Him on the holy cross,
and serving him the holy body and blood. The
Lord’s cross and the Lord’s Supper go hand in hand. With both the Lord takes up the job of a servant. On the cross Jesus won salvation, life, and resurrection from the
dead; by Him we are redeemed and set at liberty. In the Lord’s Supper Jesus
delivers to us salvation, life, and
resurrection from the dead. In His Supper He feeds those He has redeemed, and He serves the slaves whom
He has set at liberty. We boast in
the Lord’s cross and we boast in the Lord’s Supper. He is all we have, because everything in us is unclean with sin. And if we boast in ourselves, then the
Lord does not wash us and we have no share with Him. But by His cross and Supper He makes us clean.
Sometimes we are tempted to be
like Peter and ask, “Lord do you wash my
feet?” Not because we’re so humble, but because we are proud and in our
heart of hearts we detest being served. We refuse to be beggars. We think we
can get by on our own. Or we think
we’ve already got baptism, we’ve already heard the Word, why do we need the
Lord’s Supper too? But when the Lord
says, “Take, eat. Drink of it all of you. My body and blood are for you.” Can our reply ever truly be: “I don’t
need that.” If the Lord offers to do
something for you or to give you something, who are you to correct him? Don’t you think He knows you better
than you know yourself? Don’t you
think He knows your sin and He knows what you need for it? Yes. He knows you and He loves you. He loves you to the end. Even foolish Peter, even you and me. It’s best to simply receive with
thanksgiving what the Lord wants to give.
Far
be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is it strange to boast in the cross of
Jesus? No stranger than to say, As often as we eat this bread and drink this
cup we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. By the cross our God was
gracious to us and blessed us with His death. By the cross He made His
face to shine upon us, that His
way would be known on earth, His saving
power among all nations. And it is known on earth. In His Word and in His Supper we see the shining face of God. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all
the peoples praise You! With His holy body and precious blood, God, our God, shall bless us. Let the
Lord clean you and serve you and let all
the ends of the earth fear Him! In His body and blood is salvation, life, and resurrection from the dead; by Him we are
redeemed and set at liberty.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
