God in an apron!

Supper was special that night.
 There was both a heaviness and a holiness
 hanging in the air.
 We couldn’t explain the mood.
 It was sacred, yet sorrowful.
 Gathered around that table
         eating that solemn, holy meal
         seemed to us the most important meal
         we had ever sat down to eat.

We were dwelling in the heart of MYSTERY.
 Though dark the night,
 Hope felt right—
        as if something evil
         was about to be conquered.

And then suddenly
 the One-Who-Loved startled us all.
 He got up from the table
 and put on an apron.
 Can you imagine how we felt?

GOD IN AN APRON!

Tenderness encircled us
         as He bowed before us.
 He knelt and said,
         “I choose to wash your feet
         because I love you.”

God in an apron, kneeling.
 I couldn’t believe my eyes.
 I was embarrassed
         until His eyes met mine.
 I sensed my value then.
 He touched my feet.
 He held them in His strong, brown hands.
 He washed them.
 I can still feel the water.
 I can still feel the touch of His hands.
 I can still see the look in His eyes.

Then He handed me the towel
 and said,
“As I have done,
         so you must do.”
Learn to bow.
 Learn to kneel.

Let your tenderness encircle
         everyone you meet.
 Wash their feet–
        not because you have to–
but because you want to.

It seems I’ve stood two thousand years
         holding that towel in my hands.
“As I have done, so must you do,”
        keeps echoing in my heart.

“There are so many feet to wash,”
        I keep saying.
“No.”
I hear God’s voice
         resounding through the years.
“There are only My feet.
 What you do for them,
         you do for Me.”