Word:

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:1-5)

Meditation Thought: We make a big deal about having the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, just as they had when the Lord’s Supper was instituted, but we totally omit the towel and the basin. In John’s account of this event, he was much more impressed with Jesus’ willingness to serve His disciples by washing their feet — even the feet of Judas, who He knew was about to betray him — than he was with the menu for the meal.

Prayer: O God, help us to get beyond the trivial. We want to use the right menu when we take the Lord’s Supper, but help us to see the bigger picture. Help us to see that having the heart to look for the needs of others and the willingness to meet those needs, however humbling that is for us, is far more important in Your eyes than the things we eat. Help us to be servants, even to those who may do us harm, so that we can be like our Master and be pleasing to You. In the name of the Lord of the towel, Amen.