Foot washing: who would want that job? Jesus takes that role and tells his disciples to do that for one another. What a humble role! But the King of Kings chooses this role. What does this mean for those stuck in humble conditions? This is the day the Lord has made. Let us agree to rejoice in this day. I invite you to get a Bible – in print or electronic – and start working through all or part of the prayers, scripture reading, questions, and devotional reading below. May the Lord bless you as you do so. And may the Spirit of God work in each of us to shape us to be a little more like Jesus, today.

— Praise God with Me: (1)
O God, you summon the day to dawn, you teach the morning to waken the earth.
For you the valleys shall sing for joy, the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
For you the kings of the earth shall bow, the poor and the persecuted shall shout for joy.
Your love and mercy shall last forever, fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise.
Great is your name. Great is your love. Amen.

— Let us read and reflect on Scripture:
Come Holy Spirit, help us to hear your still, small voice as we read your word:
John 13:1-17 – Part of the passage is provided here for those who don’t have a Bible handy.
1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end…4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him… “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

— Answer these four questions:
What does this passage say about God?
What does this passage say about people?
As a result of this reading, what is one step God is inviting you to take?
Who is one person you will tell about that step today?

— With a Heart of Prayer, Let us Respond: (2)
Jesus: King of all, Servant of all, Master, Lord,
Shape our minds and hearts to know that we are serving you.
Be glorified in our service and our serving.
Pour out your Spirit on those who receive our service,
That through our service they are brought closer to fullness of life,
And are drawn further into your kingdom. Amen.

— Let’s Gather Wisdom from One Who Walked with Christ before us: (3)
Where a God who is totally purposive and totally foreseeing acts upon a Nature which is totally interlocked, there can be no accidents or loose ends… Nothing is ‘merely a by-product’ of anything else. All results are intended from the first. What is subservient from one point of view is the main purpose from another. No thing or event is first or highest in a sense which forbids it to be also last and lowest. The partner who bows to Man in one movement of the dance receives Man’s reverence in another. To be high or central means to abdicate continually: to be low means to be raised: all good masters are servants; God washes the feet of men.

— Receive this blessing as we begin this day: (4)
May the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing
so that you may abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sources:
(1) From The Worship Sourcebook, 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources.
(2) From The Worship Sourcebook, 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources.
(3) From Miracles, CS Lewis
(4) From Romans 15:13 as found in The Worship Sourcebook, 2004, Faith Alive Christian Resources.