April 18, 2025 • 10 mins
This Holy Thursday message centers on the powerful and intimate moment when Jesus, knowing His death was near, chose not to grasp for power but to kneel in service. Instead of issuing a final command or performing a grand miracle, Jesus picked up a towel and washed His disciples’ feet—an act reserved for the lowest servant.
The sermon by Pastor Lonnie unpacks this stunning reversal of expectations: the Teacher becomes the servant, the Master takes the lowest place, and love is expressed through humble action. It calls us not just to admire this moment but to live it out—serving others without thought of reward and embracing the towel as a symbol of Christlike love.
Through acts of kindness, compassion, and humility, we reveal Jesus to a watching world. The towel is more than a prop—it is an invitation. As Jesus washed feet, so we are called to embody His love, laying down control and stepping into the posture of a servant. The basin is still full. The towel is still waiting. Will you pick it up?
The sermon by Pastor Lonnie unpacks this stunning reversal of expectations: the Teacher becomes the servant, the Master takes the lowest place, and love is expressed through humble action. It calls us not just to admire this moment but to live it out—serving others without thought of reward and embracing the towel as a symbol of Christlike love.
Through acts of kindness, compassion, and humility, we reveal Jesus to a watching world. The towel is more than a prop—it is an invitation. As Jesus washed feet, so we are called to embody His love, laying down control and stepping into the posture of a servant. The basin is still full. The towel is still waiting. Will you pick it up?
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Tonight's reading from the Gospel of John, it really draws
us into a very sacred moment. It really is an
unforgettable scene of humility.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And love.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
And it was just before the Passover festival. Jesus he
knew that his time had come and he would soon
be betrayed, arrested, and crucified.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
But before the.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Crown of thorns and the cross, he chose to do something.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
He chose to pick up a tow.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Of all things, the disciples they gathered for the Passover
me ill. They had already reclined at the table.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And everything was prepared.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Except for one thing. Now, there would usually be a
servant who would typically stand at the door with a
pitcher and a towel, ready to wash the grime the
dust off of the weary feet.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
But that servant wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Maybe he was celebrating the Passover with his own family.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
No one really knows. Or maybe no one.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Thought, because of what would happen that night, that it
was even necessary to wash the feet, or maybe no
one wanted to stoop down so low.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
And do it.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
But as we know, someone rose from the table and
it wasn't one of the twelve. It wasn't the youngest,
it was not the least. Can you just imagine their confusion,
(02:11):
And I would suspect even their discomfort. As Jesus, their rabbi,
their lord, knelt beside them with water in hand, and
he began to wash their feet, their dusty, cracked, calloused, smelly.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Feet.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
And we have these words from John where John wrote,
and he said, now that I.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Your lord and teacher, have washed your feet.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Then Jesus gives another one of those directives, then you
should also.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Wash one another's feet.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Isn't that Wow?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
There was no random act. It was a holy.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Example. Jesus wasn't just washing feet here. But I think
in the symbolism of that, Jesus was revealing the very
heart of God, the very heart of God. For an
ancient Palestine, foot washing was.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
As necessary as it was humbling.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
With sandals on dusty roads. Feet were filthy, and by
the time you reached your destination it was the work
of servants.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
To take care of that.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Never the leader, But we find Jesus is always up
with surprises. He usually would do the things we least expect.
Jesus flips the script.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
The highest.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Becomes the lowest, The king becomes the servant and the
teacher becomes the taol bearer, and he invites us to
do the same thing. Now, there are some Christian traditions
(04:41):
and they practice literal foot washing tonight, they'll be washing
feet on this evening part of their and it's an
actual sacrament and their tradition. But even if we don't
hold it as a sacrament, we all know what it means.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Every time.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
That you reach out and you care for someone in need,
every time you serve without expecting anything in return, every
time you humble yourself to love, as a scripture calls
the least of these, in a very real way, you're
(05:29):
washing someone's feet. The author Richard Foster is no stranger
to this congregation. His writings are in a lot of
the works of John Hanson with the areas of spiritual disciplines.
I like what Richard Foster has to say about this.
Richard Foster said, there is a difference between choosing to serve.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And choosing to be a servant.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
When I choose to serve, I retain control about whom
I serve. But when I choose to be a servant,
I have given up all rights and all control it's
(06:25):
a very different scenario.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So foot washing is more than an action. It is
a posture of the heart and the world.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
In some places of this world, they may never open
a Bible, they may never enter the sanctuary of a church.
But when we live in the model of Jesus as
that kind of servant, when we become that kind of
(06:59):
love action, and we give the glory to God, that
is one of the ways in which the world is
able to see Jesus.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Incarnate.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
In the people of the church who claim him as
Lord and Savior, who feast upon and recognize that sacrifice
of his shed blood and broken body. The world will
see Jesus incarnate.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Again in you.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
In you will, through our kindness, through service and sacrifice.
Someone may glimpse Christ right beside them.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Well, guess what. The Tao is still the tower is
still waiting, the basin is.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Still full, and our world, our world, still has feet
that needs washing.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
They need to see Jesus not in a building, but
in his followers.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
So tonight, as we on this Holy Week remember the
Upper Room, and as we move towards the Cross on
Good Friday, let us.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Not just reflect on Jesus's.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Love, but how about us, embodying it, embodying it.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Pick up a cow, bend the knee.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
And wash those feet. Let us pray, Oh God, We
confess that we are often reluctant servants. We prefer positions
of comfort over postures of humility.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yet you Lord, you knelt at our feet.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Shape us into your hands and your feet.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Empower us by your spirit to serve.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Not for our recognition, but for your glory.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
We are your Church, We are the body of Christ.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Sundest. Now to love.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
As you have loved.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Amen,
Tonight's reading from the Gospel of John, it really draws
us into a very sacred moment. It really is an
unforgettable scene of humility.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And love.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
And it was just before the Passover festival. Jesus he
knew that his time had come and he would soon
be betrayed, arrested, and crucified.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
But before the.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Crown of thorns and the cross, he chose to do something.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
He chose to pick up a tow.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Of all things, the disciples they gathered for the Passover
me ill. They had already reclined at the table.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
And everything was prepared.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Except for one thing. Now, there would usually be a
servant who would typically stand at the door with a
pitcher and a towel, ready to wash the grime the
dust off of the weary feet.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
But that servant wasn't there.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Maybe he was celebrating the Passover with his own family.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
No one really knows. Or maybe no one.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Thought, because of what would happen that night, that it
was even necessary to wash the feet, or maybe no
one wanted to stoop down so low.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
And do it.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
But as we know, someone rose from the table and
it wasn't one of the twelve. It wasn't the youngest,
it was not the least. Can you just imagine their confusion,
(02:11):
And I would suspect even their discomfort. As Jesus, their rabbi,
their lord, knelt beside them with water in hand, and
he began to wash their feet, their dusty, cracked, calloused, smelly.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Feet.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
And we have these words from John where John wrote,
and he said, now that I.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Your lord and teacher, have washed your feet.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Then Jesus gives another one of those directives, then you
should also.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Wash one another's feet.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Isn't that Wow?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
There was no random act. It was a holy.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Example. Jesus wasn't just washing feet here. But I think
in the symbolism of that, Jesus was revealing the very
heart of God, the very heart of God. For an
ancient Palestine, foot washing was.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
As necessary as it was humbling.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
With sandals on dusty roads. Feet were filthy, and by
the time you reached your destination it was the work
of servants.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
To take care of that.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Never the leader, But we find Jesus is always up
with surprises. He usually would do the things we least expect.
Jesus flips the script.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
The highest.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Becomes the lowest, The king becomes the servant and the
teacher becomes the taol bearer, and he invites us to
do the same thing. Now, there are some Christian traditions
(04:41):
and they practice literal foot washing tonight, they'll be washing
feet on this evening part of their and it's an
actual sacrament and their tradition. But even if we don't
hold it as a sacrament, we all know what it means.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Every time.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
That you reach out and you care for someone in need,
every time you serve without expecting anything in return, every
time you humble yourself to love, as a scripture calls
the least of these, in a very real way, you're
(05:29):
washing someone's feet. The author Richard Foster is no stranger
to this congregation. His writings are in a lot of
the works of John Hanson with the areas of spiritual disciplines.
I like what Richard Foster has to say about this.
Richard Foster said, there is a difference between choosing to serve.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And choosing to be a servant.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
When I choose to serve, I retain control about whom
I serve. But when I choose to be a servant,
I have given up all rights and all control it's
(06:25):
a very different scenario.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So foot washing is more than an action. It is
a posture of the heart and the world.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
In some places of this world, they may never open
a Bible, they may never enter the sanctuary of a church.
But when we live in the model of Jesus as
that kind of servant, when we become that kind of
(06:59):
love action, and we give the glory to God, that
is one of the ways in which the world is
able to see Jesus.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Incarnate.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
In the people of the church who claim him as
Lord and Savior, who feast upon and recognize that sacrifice
of his shed blood and broken body. The world will
see Jesus incarnate.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Again in you.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
In you will, through our kindness, through service and sacrifice.
Someone may glimpse Christ right beside them.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Well, guess what. The Tao is still the tower is
still waiting, the basin is.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Still full, and our world, our world, still has feet
that needs washing.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
They need to see Jesus not in a building, but
in his followers.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
So tonight, as we on this Holy Week remember the
Upper Room, and as we move towards the Cross on
Good Friday, let us.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Not just reflect on Jesus's.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Love, but how about us, embodying it, embodying it.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Pick up a cow, bend the knee.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
And wash those feet. Let us pray, Oh God, We
confess that we are often reluctant servants. We prefer positions
of comfort over postures of humility.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yet you Lord, you knelt at our feet.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Shape us into your hands and your feet.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Empower us by your spirit to serve.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Not for our recognition, but for your glory.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
We are your Church, We are the body of Christ.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Sundest. Now to love.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
As you have loved.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Amen,
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