Ghislane Howard
The disciple, probably Peter, is clearly mid-flow, talking away while Jesus washes his feet. He starts out in disbelief, of course. What? Jesus wants to wash his feet? His Lord and Teacher take on the role of the lowliest servant? He can’t possibly let that happen! But Jesus persists and points out that “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” And so Peter completely changes his tune: in that case, Jesus should wash not just his feet, but his hands and head as well! Impulsive, as always, Peter swings from one extreme to the other. But that isn’t necessary, Jesus tells him. Just the feet are sufficient.
We can’t tell which bit Peter has got to in this painting. Is he still resisting or does he now want to go all in? All we can see is that he is still wrestling with Jesus, arguing, struggling to come to terms with what Jesus is doing. Jesus, meanwhile, looks completely still. Not immobile – he is washing Peter’s feet – but completely calm, totally focussed on that one task, not letting himself get distracted. It’s as though he is trying to tell Peter: “Relax! Calm down. Just let me do this for you. Be still. And simply appreciate this for what it is. Feel the cool water on your hot feet, the touch of my hands, the rub of the towel gently massaging your skin.”
It’s rather like the times when we come to God in prayer, our heads buzzing and filled to overflowing. So many things on our minds. And we’re trying to work out what God is trying to tell us, what it is we should be doing, what it is we need to ask of God. Every time we try to focus, our mind takes us off somewhere else again. But God remains completely calm, patiently waiting for us to calm down, too. Waiting for the chatter, the thoughts, the busyness gradually to subside, until we can finally see what God is doing: washing our feet, doing us a service, refreshing us, tenderly touching and caressing us, helping us to relax and rest.
“Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Usually we associate Jesus or God washing us with the washing away of sins. But perhaps that isn’t the only thing that is going on. Perhaps it is also about us quietly coming to rest in God and letting ourselves be looked after and filled with God’s Spirit of love and peace. Letting the greed and selfishness be replaced by something new: knowing ourselves loved and cared for by God. And once the peace of that knowledge fills our hearts, once we have truly experienced that great reversal of God serving us, then we can have a share with Jesus. Then we are ready and can learn, like Jesus, to wash the feet of others.
Biblical References
Jesus washes the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17)
The Artist
Ghislane Howard is British artist. See more of her art and find out about her on her website.
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