The Teacher Who Picked Up a Towel

John 13:14-15. Having washed the feet of the twelve, Jesus sits back down and explains himself. If he, their Lord and Teacher, has washed their feet, they also ought to wash one another's feet. He has set them an example, so that they should do as he has done for them.

It is easy to admire this verse and hard to obey it. Foot washing was slave work, the job a household gave to the lowest servant, and Jesus did it with full knowledge of who he was. John says plainly that Jesus knew the Father had put all things under his power. The towel was not a sign that he had forgotten his authority. It was what his authority looked like when it bent down.

The example he set is not a ceremony but a direction. Whoever has the most power in a room is the one who should be quickest to serve in it. On a Friday near the end of July, with a weekend ahead and people around you who need small, unglamorous things done, this verse asks one question. What is the towel in your hand today, and will you pick it up?