PASTOR’S CORNER: Washing your enemies’ feet

Now community we are speaking figuratively and not literally when it comes to washing your enemies’ feet.

Some churches see foot washing as a church ordinance just like the Lord’s Supper and baptism. I actually participated in a foot washing service some years ago where we literally took a towel and basin, took our shoes and socks off, and washed one another’s feet. You don’t hear of many churches doing that now though some still practice this as an ordinance.

This task, foot washing, was considered the lowest task that a man could perform for another man. This was common in the ancient world where whenever a stranger or someone came and visited you, the host would wash the dust off of their guests’ feet.

But now, I don’t know how this worked when it came to enemies. First of all, your enemies probably were not invited to your house so I don’t think that anybody would offer their hospitality much less wash their enemies’ feet. Because, nobody wants to wash somebody’s feet who you don’t like and who doesn’t like you, especially your enemy.

See, we know our enemies will try to do us harm, for that’s what they do. Enemies are enemies and don’t have your best interest at heart. We don’t trust our enemies because they’ll stab you in the back while smiling in your face. In a lot of cases they want to see our demise in the world. You try to kill your enemies before your enemies kill you.

In the army, on the battlefield, it’s kill or be killed. There is no love lost when enemies square off against each other. You hated your enemies, and your enemies hated you. Look around us in our communities, in gang-related shootings this is their motto, “our enemies do something evil to us; we retaliate and do something evil to them.’

The bottom line is nobody wins, but the devil. We that are Christians are called to be Christians and we are to make a difference in this world. Evil for evil doesn’t work in Christianity. You don’t wish for anything bad to happen to your enemies, and you don’t rejoice when something bad happens to your enemies. Hating those who hate us won’t work in Christianity. “You kick my dog, and I’ll kick your cat,” has no place in Christianity and you don’t win your enemies by acting the way they do. You win your enemies by making them your friends.

This means if they are hungry, you feed them; if they need clothes, give them something to wear; and if you can do them a favor, do it! Even if it means stooping down and washing their feet, Jesus did!

As Christians, we are to make the first move toward that effort. Jesus did just that. Community in 2024 we are called to humility; to be humble and win our enemies. That’s what God wants us to do, win them! How do we do that? By washing their feet! Any act of love toward them is washing their feet. Foot-washing was an example of humility and service, according to John 13:15. More of us need to be like that.

In Middle Eastern countries, it was the slaves who washed the feet of guests. Here Christ took the place of a slave. He took water and a basin and washed his disciples’ feet in John 13:4-5. The disciples were uncomfortable that Jesus, the Lord, would take this role and wash their feet. But, Jesus’ lesson was that if their Lord and Teacher, the savior of the world, has lowered himself and washed their feet, then they should be willing to wash one another’s feet and serve each other in humility.

But, let us look at Judas community. Judas, one of the 12, was in the Upper Room with the rest of the disciples, pretending to be Christ’s own. He looked like the disciples, walked like a disciple, and went along with the disciples. And when Jesus sent out the 70 and gave them power to heal the sick and cast out demons, Judas was right there in the group, according to Luke 10:1. And the disciples thought that he was one of them. But he was the enemy.

Just like some people in the church, they look saved, play the role of being saved, and work in the church, and folks think that they were saved, but on the inside there has never been a salvation change.

Christ had just washed Judas’ feet, his enemy. He knew who Judas was, He knew he was his enemy, yet He washed his feet along with the other disciples. Now community, this shows us that we will not win everybody to Christ. I don’t care how much we witness to them, how much we love them, how many favors we do for them we will not win everybody. Jesus the savior, who came to seek and save that which was lost has a sinner as one of his disciples; and despite seeing the miracles that Jesus did, the sermons and teachings that he heard Judas still died a sinner.

Community, we don’t have to expose our enemies all the time. We just need to know who they are, so that they don’t sneak up behind us. When God reveals to us who our enemies are, or they expose themselves by what they do, “thank you Lord” …then go ahead and wash their feet! if Jesus washed their feet and our feet, then we ought to wash our enemies’ feet.