Jesus Washes
When we see Jesus and his works, we glimpse the intentions of the invisible God: love and justice. "Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet" by Ford Madox Brown, circa 1852-56, currently stored at the Tate Museum in Great Britain. Photo by Alonso de Mendoza via Wikimedia Commons.
Sunday, July 21, 2019: Amos 8:1-12; Genesis 18:1-10; Palms 15; Luke 10:38-42; Colossians 1:15-16
There are good choices this week.
Amos 8:1-12 In the past I called this the Nike passage after learning of the starvation wages paid to those who made the popular shoes. This off-shore company literally “sold the poor for a pair of shoes.”
Genesis 18:1-10 We find Abraham and Sarah offering great hospitality to three strangers who inform Sarah that she will soon have the promised child. At her age, this is indeed a mystery. The preacher should stick to theology rather than gynecology on this one.
Psalms15 reminds me of the beatitude “Blessed are the pure in heart.” I especially like verse 15:5, “Do not lend money at interest or take a bribe.” This one might make the banker frown.
Luke 10:38-42, a Mary and Martha story. I feel sorry for Martha stuck in the kitchen, but someone has to make the sandwiches. At our church it is good to see the guys also working in the kitchen.
This week I need to go with Colossians: “He, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation.”
It was said that Lord Donald Soper, British Methodist pastor, in his old age went to Hyde Park on Sundays each week to preach and challenge the non-believers. On one occasion he told a young skeptic that Jesus is a “human photograph of God.” Soper’s critics argued with his statement. I think in that context the statement was a good one. If you wish to know what God is like, look to Jesus. Once a student asked me, “Is Jesus God?” I prefer to say Jesus is the revealer of God—through word and deed.
Jesus is no plaster saint, nor image to be venerated. Each age seems to create Jesus in its own image, and there is the rub. In what sense is he the revealer?
I like to think of Jesus as a focal point. When I focus on a subject in the woods using binoculars, I can see clearly. When I focus on Jesus’ words, deeds, responses, then God’s intentions – love and justice – are made clear as to how we are to see and treat each other. Jesus is the revealer!
He brings a new integrity. What Jesus said and what he did are a perfect match. Is he human? Yes, very human and subject to all that we humans face. When he sets his face toward Jerusalem, that is a commitment, based on radical love, to put himself in harm’s way for the sake of the world.
\And the hopeful part is that each of us can have that kind of integrity! What we say and what we do must be a match. We do not worship Jesus, but in Jesus we discover a new kind of humanity that each of us can know and practice – not for gain, or to receive a prize, or to have others speak well of us — but simply because it is the new humanity demonstrated and lived out before us, the very intention of God. When we focus on Jesus, we discover a radical form of love in which we each can participate.
What then is the payoff ? A rocking chair in heaven? That all will speak well of us? A plaque on the wall? Those are good things, but I am searching for something more.
Jesus shaped a new Neighbor Consciousness. Dorothy Day said it well when she said if we spend our time insuring that we will do the right thing to get to heaven, we might just make it. But if we go alone, the gatekeeper is sure to ask, “Where are the others?” One cannot be a Christian by one’s self. Folks, we are all in this together. The beloved community or church is that body created and called to be an instrument that ensures justice and love for one’s neighbor. And the neighbor includes those who are outside the camp. No selective sisterhood or brotherhood within the beloved community. Tearing down walls of separation and hostility becomes the work of the church. And through our action, the very will of God becomes clear. “He, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation.”
Prayer:
God of power and might, God of justice and love, Thou who knows us better than we know ourselves, grant to each of us new visions of what life can be when we follow Jesus, your precious gift to each of us. Amen.
The Rev. Bill Cotton of Des Moines, Iowa, is a retired clergy member of the Iowa Annual Conference. Together with friends and colleagues he produces "MEMO for Those Who Preach," which is distributed by email. Subscribe here.