“So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.”
John 13:14
The command of foot washing is to "do it" not to have it done to your feet. We are called to be the foot "washer" not the foot "washee."
The only time I had my feet washed because they needed to be washed I was not aware that they were dirty. I was in Ethiopia when a very alert brother who was concerned with the cleanliness of the sheets on the bed I was about to get in approached me with a pan of warm water and a towel.
It was not a ceremony, but rather a necessity. My limited experience with ceremonial foot washing is that it is humiliating for the person being washed. Necessary foot washing is not humiliating but rather a blessing. When my needs are addressed by a brother I am blessed. When I am encouraged to be part of a ceremony I am usually embarrassed.
Look for the feet that need to be washed and wash them. Recently a brother “washed my feet” by bringing me a load of firewood when I had none to heat the house. Even the time that Jesus washed the disciples feet was a time of necessity. Peter told Jesus to wash all of him, but Jesus refused because he was already clean. The bottom line is this: It isn’t foot washing if there is no dirt!
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