Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” John 13:8, NKJV

The story of Jesus washing His disciples' feet is recorded in only one of the four Gospels, and its relative uniqueness in the Bible record reflects the distinctness of the experience itself.  In our 21st century Western culture, we don't have many norms that make footwashing today feel familiar.  Admittedly, most Christian communities do without it, and even in the Adventist community there's a tinge of hesitancy and awkwardness for some whenever the towels and basins are set out.  So what's the big deal?  Can't we just avoid the uneasiness and say with Peter:  "You shall never wash my feet!" (Jn. 13:8)?  We could...but we'd be missing out on something big -- having "part" with Jesus.  

What Jesus was saying

Actions speak louder than words, and in that upper room Jesus' stunning servant-like actions were speaking loudly.  His actions spoke loudly of His love for us that endures to the end (Jn. 13:1), His love that is willing to lay aside His own garments and dignity (v. 4), His love that removes our filth by taking it upon Himself (v. 5).  The disciples took it all in with silent awe, but when Peter refused it out of embarrassment for himself and his Master, Jesus verbally articulated all that was at stake in the footwashing:  "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."  So what was Jesus saying?  

Footwashing boils down to belonging.

When Jesus humbled Himself to wash the feet of His prideful disciples, He was telling them -- and us! -- that He is willing to do whatever it takes for us to belong to Him.  Jesus wants "part" with us (Jn. 13:8, NKJV).  The King of the universe actually wants us to "belong" (NLT) to His royal family and "share" (ESV) in all that is rightfully His.  When we let that sink in, it moves us to bow in adoration of the God who became nothing so we could have everything.  More than that, it moves us to relinquish our self-sufficiency and pride to actually receive the gift of His grace for ourselves.

What we are saying

When we participate in footwashing today and accept Jesus' invitation to do as He has done to us (13:15), our actions are also speaking loudly.  Our experience of footwashing is saying something about belonging as well.  First, we are actively telling Jesus that we're willing to humble ourselves so we can have part with Him.  Footwashing is a declaration to God that we no longer want our self-centeredness and ego to stand in the way of our belonging to Him.  Whenever we allow our feet to be washed, we're giving God permission to cleanse our lives so we can stand in oneness with the Savior.

Second, when we put ourselves in Jesus' shoes and position ourselves in the servant's stance to wash someone else's feet...

our actions are telling that person that we want them to have part with us.  

Let's not gloss over this.  This is the horizontal dynamic of the gospel that Paul describes in Ephesians as making "one new humanity" (Eph. 2:15, NIV).  When we wash others' feet, we're saying YES to that gospel miracle!  We're communicating our desire for their belonging -- not just to God...but to me.  We're extending our arms to embrace them into our family, our community.  We're declaring our willingness to humble ourselves so we can share life in Christ together.

So is footwashing a little awkward?  Maybe.  But there's a saving message to rehearse and receive when we experience it together that makes any uneasiness fade away.  Whether we celebrate this ordinance of humility this Sabbath or in the future, it's my prayer that God would renew our belonging to Him and our belonging to each other.