Maundy Thursday - Washing of Feet

On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus showed radical humility by washing his disciple’s feet.

On this 2015 Maundy Thursday service at the small chapel in Puissalicon , the Reverend Roger washed the feet of his parishioners following the example set by Jesus.

‘After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.’
(John 13:12-15)

When clergy wash their congregants’ feet on Maundy Thursday night, they are following the example of Christ. St John's Gospel records that, during the Last Supper, Christ washed his disciple’s feet – and told them they must do this for each other. With this act he presented a powerful challenge to his disciples' notions of hierachy, and an eternal example of the dignity inherent in humbly serving others.

The Washing of Feet is part of a sequence of services throughout Holy Week and Easter in which Christians share in Christ’s own journey, from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the empty tomb on Easter morning. Maundy Thursday (from mandatum, ‘commandment’) is not just about humble Christian service as expressed through Christ washing his disciple’s feet. It also celebrates the institution of the Eucharist, and the perfection of Christ’s loving obedience to God through the agony of Gethsemane, where he prayed with his disciples on the night before his betrayal, arrest and crucifixion.