I was asked to speak at a Holy Thursday Vigil and Foot Washing outside of the ICE building today. Here’s what I meant to say (what I actually said was much shorter and repetitive because that’s what happens when I decide to scrap the careful notes I’ve prepared!)
Good afternoon. I’m Joann Lee, one of the pastors at Calvary Presbyterian Church here in San Francisco. And Sarah asked me to speak about the significance of foot-washing in the Christian tradition.
There’s no better day to talk about this than today as we celebrate Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” comes from the Latin phrasemandatum novum meaning “new commandment.”
And this “new commandment” was really just a sum of all the commandments that had come before: to love one another.
Jesus demonstrated this love on that first Maundy Thursday by washing the feet of his disciples.
It was unexpected and uncomfortable to some of his disciples that their teacher, their leader would kneel before them and so intimately serve and care for them in this way.
But Jesus shows them through his example that any power or privilege we may hold is to be set aside or to be used in service for others, to show God’s love and to show God’s upside-down justice to the world where the first shall be last and the last shall be first; where the powerful are made weak, the meek are made strong.
This stole I’m wearing is to actually remind pastors in my tradition, that our duty and role is first and foremost to serve and to love. It represents the towel that Jesus wore around his neck as he washed his disciples’ feet.
The act of foot-washing, then, is symbolic of mutual and sacrificial love.
It is a sign of humility and of service, BUT it is also a form of resistance. A way to reject the ways of the world that tell us fear, violence, brutality, might and strength will save us. Jesus shows us that love and care and concern for others can and will ultimately bring about the transformation this world so desperately needs; it is a radical way to bring about wholeness and justice in the world.
Today, outside this ICE building, where so much harm and trauma is done to the bodies and souls of immigrants in this country, we come to wash the feet of these, our sisters and brothers who are suffering.
We hope and pray that it is a balm, a source of healing, respite, and strength.
And through this ancient ritual we honor immigrant community members who are leading us and showing us what justice looks like.
As people of faith, we stand with immigrants.
And this is one way we can outwardly show that we see, support, and love these individuals and their families.
This is one way we can outwardly show that we do not support the unjust systems and structures that continue to oppress and dehumanize those who are created in the image of God.
Christians today believe we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ, and Jesus chose to use his hands to wash the feet of his disciples and through that great act of love, to usher in God’s justice and peace that would turn the world upside down.
That’s why we do this; to simply follow Christ’s example the best we can.
And there’s no better day than today, and no better place than here to be doing so.
So thanks to Sarah and your team at the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity for providing this opportunity.
And thanks to our fearless and tireless immigrant leaders and families.
It is a privilege to be here with you all, taking part in this sacred ritual.
However, this is my prayer:
That there will be a day when symbolic acts like this are no longer necessary, because decent human kindness will prevail, God’s justice and love will prevail, and sensible immigration reform will pass. And one day, may this kind of human suffering will be a thing of the past.
We hope and long and, most importantly, work for that day.
But until that day, for days like these, we will continue to come together, continue to show up, continue to pray and serve, and work together for that day.
Jumping into Living Water 