Saint Paul doesn’t mince words: And how could anyone spread the good news without a commission to do so? And that is what Scripture affirms: ‘How welcome are the feet of the messengers of good news!’ (Romans 10: 15, NEB)

He recognized that no one could declare the good news of reconciliation without first having been commissioned to do so. He knew this to be true from his own experience and while the method of commissioning varied in respect to each one called, the reality of the commission was normative: As the Father sent me... so I send you.

The messengers of the LORD God bring news! Good news! News of the LORD’s intention to respond to the contrite heart with forgiveness and healing. The message is not that of the messenger, but of the One who sent the messenger. The message is Jesus! So I send you. And the feet of the messenger are welcome I

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of the herald who comes to proclaim prosperity and bring good news, the news of deliverance... (Isaiah 52: 7, NEB)

The message is clear and it is greeted with warmth and affection. The feet that have carried this messenger of the LORD have stood on the mountain top and have walked through the valley of the shadow of death. This messenger has rejoiced with those who rejoice and has wept with those who weep and these feet have carried the LORD’s messenger there.

Feet are a very peculiar thing. While we couldn’t possibly get along without them, we generally take them for granted and rarely are they the focus of our admiration in the society in which we live. Generally we pay as little attention to our feet as possible. We dress them and are uncomfortable when they are undressed. Seldom are our feet a focus of our vanity and pride. Toes twisted and callused, nails think and gnarled, we do not like to spend much time preoccupied with such unseemly parts.

But that’s not how Jesus looked at feet. He knew the hardships suffered by his feet and knew that the experience of others was not unlike his own. He stood, as it were, where others stood and his identification with the sorrows of man was thorough.

At supper with the Twelve, Jesus rose from the table, laid aside his garments, and taking a towel, tied it round him. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash disciple's feet and to wipe them with the towel. (John 13: 4-5, NEB)

Jesus was preparing men’s feet to walk in the counsel of the LORD. He was enabling these men to deepen their relationship with him and with each other. Jesus was bringing healing to his intimates in anticipation of the disruption that lie ahead and the commission that would surely follow.

The disciples’ understanding of what Jesus did for them is a consequence of his action. It is not conjecture on the part of men considering to have their feet washed. It is a question directed to men who have had their feet washed.

But that didn’t make it any the easier for these men who knew Jesus so well. Sometimes our reluctance to deepen our relationships is because we know each other so well — we don’t think it necessary; or because we don’t know each other well at all — in which case we’d just as soon postpone the deepening of the relationship with an acquaintance. Jesus cuts through all of our rationalizations and says to Peter and to us… If I do not wash you, you are not in fellowship with me. (John 13: 8, NEB)

The primary function served here is the fellowship with Jesus we wish to have.

The choice is still ours to make, and wouldn’t it be so much easier if we didn’t have to make certain decisions. Jesus wouldn’t let Peter sidestep the issue. What Peter wants will determine what it is that Jesus can do for him. And as with Peter, so with you, and me.

Jesus’ purpose goes beyond the fellowship we enjoy in him. In Luke’s Gospel, we read: As for those who will not receive you, when you leave their town shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them. (Luke 9: 4, NEB)

It’s easy to misunderstand what it is that Jesus is saying here. I am sure that for many followers of Jesus this passage would be considered justification for treating our enemies in a spiteful manner. It’s nothing of the sort. This is no act of condemnation at all but rather recognizes a practical dynamic in the lives of men: Namely if we fall into discord it is necessary that we seek reconciliation and failing that then to ensure that the enmity is not carried with us into new situations. Jesus knew that if the disciples carried resentment towards those who would not receive them into new relationships then those new relationships would be influenced by what had gone before. The shaking the dust of f the feet was a symbol of leaving behind the unnecessary and burdensome weight that develops out of situations we haven’t found fulfilling. And so, in the same spirit, Jesus ensures that attitudes contrary to the reconciliation he brings are not an influence on the messenger. The feet of the messenger are welcome... and lovely and clean!

This is an attitude we are to have towards one another as messengers, Jesus tells us, if we’re to have any part in him. We are to wash one another’s feet. We are to wash and we are to be washed. We are to minister to each other. I have set you an example, said Jesus, you are to do as I have done for you. (John 13: 15, NEB) We are to follow his example and by so doing we will arrive at the answer to his question: Do you understand what I have done for you?

Until you remove your shoes and socks, until you place your feet in a basin of water, until another gently washes your feet, you will only consider what could be done to you. But Jesus’ remark changes the focus of our attention: this is no superficial courtesy but a powerfully spiritual event where we are ministered to on the deepest levels!