When my kids were young, and use to come home after school and watch cartoons. My sons were big fans of He- Man, and the Masters of the Universe. He-Man looked like a blonde, long haired professional wrestler on steroids. When his alter ego, Prince Adam, who was a bit of a wimp, sensed that the evil Skeletor was going to cause trouble he would whip out this magical sword, raise it to the heavens and shout, “I’ve got the power.” Lightning would hit the sword and the wimp would be turned into He-Man, Master of the Universe, who would then ride his battle tiger to go and fight Skeletor. Whenever I hear the name of this feast, Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, this cartoon series comes to mind. The images we learn when we are kids stick with us for a lifetime. As children we are programmed to think of kings in human terms, people who lord power over others. Kings are not on the same level as their subjects. With the exception of Good King Wenceslaus, many kings have been ruthless, cruel men. Jesus, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, challenges us to redefine what a king really is.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus never refers to himself as a king. He will refer to himself as Son of God, or Son of Man, depending on the Gospel. Many times he refers to himself as servant, an image that appears prominently in the Isaiah. In John’s account of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus runs away and hides from the crowd because they want to make him a King. In the Passion of John’s Gospel, while being interrogated by Pontius Pilate, Pilate says to Jesus, “So, you are a king,” and, Jesus replies with some disdain, “It is you who say that I am a King.” Jesus is the complete opposite of a human King. Unlike a human king, Jesus’ relationship with humanity is a power with relationship. In the Incarnation, when he was conceived within the womb of Mary, he let go of his Godly nature to become one with our human nature. He became as you and I in all things but sin. Jesus shares his power with us. At baptism, when we were anointed with sacred chrism, through, with, and in Jesus, we became priests, prophets, and kings.
St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians writes, “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
For Jesus, the meaning of the word, King, means that of being a servant, a slave. Jesus further emphasizes this at the Last Supper by getting down on his knees at the feet of his disciples and doing the work of a slave, that is, washing their feet. The One through whom all in the Universe was created, gets down on his knees and becomes a slave to the very people whom he had created. Jesus concludes this action by saying to his disciples, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” If we wish to give homage to Jesus, King of the Universe, we are required to drop to our knees and wash the feet of others.
Pope Francis exemplifies this so very well. He has said, “No,” to the old trappings of the Papacy, with all the rich, golden vestments, and has adopted a much simpler dress. He has shunned the luxury of the papal apartments and lives in the simple guest house of the Vatican. He takes his meals in the same cafeteria as all who work at the Vatican. On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis washes the feet of not just Catholic men, he washes the feet of refugees, Muslims, Hindus, men and women. So often in the past, Popes have often been referred to as the Supreme Pontiff, Sovereign of the Vatican, Successor of the Prince of Apostles. The one title that has rarely been applied to past Popes is Servant of the Servants of God. Pope Francis is the Servant of the Servants of God. Pope Francis truly has taken the words of Jesus to heart, and is living them.
To live our baptismal vocation to be priests, prophets, and kings calls us to wash the feet of others. To be Servants of God and authentically wash the feet of others calls us to leave our comfort zones to do things we are not comfortable to do. To wash the feet of others requires us to take risks. Mary Jo Copeland, answered her vocation to serve the poor and the homeless by starting Sharing and Caring Hands. Daily, she and those who volunteer with her, are on their knees washing the bleeding, sore covered feet of the homeless and providing for their needs. Mother Teresa answered her call to be a Servant of God took a risk and left her religious order to begin her ministry to the dying poor Muslims and Hindus of Calcutta. Cathy Heying, the highly educated former director of Social Justice at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, went back to school to learn how to be a car mechanic. Because many of the homeless live in their cars, she wanted to provide low cost car repair to the poor and homeless. She is now a licensed car mechanic and has begun a non-profit ministry called The Lift Garage that provides affordable auto repair to Minnesotans of limited means. These people are three examples of those called by God to take chances, to leave their comfort zones and enter a realm of uncertainty to become Servants of God. Washing the feet of others for them is just not a figure of speech. It is an action.
As an ordained deacon, one of the most powerful moments in the entire liturgical Church Year is getting down on my knees on Holy Thursday and washing the feet of those I have been assigned by the Archbishop to serve. Because of all the hip replacements and now a knee replacement, strict restrictions by my surgeon prevents me from getting down on my knees any more. There are others among us today, who have similar physical restrictions. However, there are other ways to wash feet. Within the Pastoral ministry of St. Wenceslaus alone, there are many who figuratively wash the feet of others by serving at Hope House, Loaves and Fishes, and the Dorothy Day Center. The same can be said for those who visit the homebound, who volunteer as BeFrienders, or at Mala Strana, or the hospital. As I speak, we have those who are serving the poor of Le Sueur County in the Adopt a Family program. Washing the feet of others is not limited to just pastoral ministry, but is inclusive of all other ministerial areas of our parish and the community at large.
If we truly wish to give homage to Jesus the Christ, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, on this Holy Solemnity, we must, as St. Paul wrote the Philippians, have the same attitude as Jesus, who did not lord his Divinity over others, but became a slave out of love for God and us. As all of us, throughout heaven and on earth, get down on our knees and confess to God the Father that Jesus Christ is Lord, let us do so by serving Jesus the Christ present in the person at whose feet we are washing.
