The icon is about Jesus giving us an example for serving one another and Creation, Washing Feet Icons are about Divine Service to one another.
Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked . “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. I, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you. “What I’m about to tell you is true. A servant is not more important than his master. And a messenger is not more important than the one who sends him.” John 13:12 In the previous chapter in John, a sinful woman comes to Jesus to wash his feet and is forgiven all transgression. Jesus seems to have taken her lead and repeats the action with his disciples. Through this simple act, we are called to serve one another and Creation.Through his instruction and example, we receive the best, most complete bath – purification – ever. It seems obvious: we all need our feet washed and to be the foot washers for others. The act is a gesture of perfect love and profound humility. Christ comes into our lives to inspire new behavior This is not a miracle or distortion of the physical world. It is a call to change our interior.
Servicing one another, inside and out.
Humanity’s collective behavior has distorted the natural balance intended for the physical world. The teachings of Jesus cleanse us inside out: we are invited to wipe dirt and filth away for us to become a new humanity. Seeing we are helpless to stay “clean” is humiliating. However, the promise of forgiveness, healing, and abundant restoration await us just beyond the horizon. The event takes place before the scene in the garden of Gethsemane. The disciples are bickering about who is best, better, and right. Judas will betray Jesus, and Peter will deny him. These are his closest friends and still they suffer from the sins of human pride and willfulness.
In John 13:14–17, Peter objects to having his feet washed. Jesus replies that if He did not wash Peter’s feet then Peter had no communion with Him. Peter retorted: “Lord, then not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” In traditional icons of this scene, Peter’s hand is raised, asking Christ to wash his head and all of him. In this humble act of washing the soles of their feet, Jesus teaches us how to divinely serve well and he begins the cleansing from our foundation. His instruction will guide us into the light and into wholeness, preparing us to be like him in service to the world. Notice, the Biblical text does not mention women.
As in the icon, Washing Feet is Divine Service to one another.
Liturgies on Holy Thursday have raised debates over washing women’s feet. In 2005, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston made a query to the Holy See about the matter of washing the feet of women. After consulting the overseers of liturgical practices in Rome, Cardinal O’Malley was told to use whatever pastoral decision he thought best.
Author’s Meditation:
The liturgy of washing feet is associated with the Lord’s Supper, referred to as the “Love Feast.” I gave myself permission to alter the sacred image to include women because of the Pope’s gesture. This icon is therefore not considered Orthodox because I have altered it from its tradition. The scroll held by the woman on the far right suggests the holy text can be adjusted to include women who were not included, documented, or understood. As a result of my epiphanies on these aspects of traditional iconography, I have altered many icons of principal events to include women. I believe it is time to re-frame our historic bias and transition rituals and sacraments to include gender equality for all of humanity.
