A foot-washing prayer
Loving God,
Who continues opens the door,
Who meets us at every table,
Who breaks bread and drinks wine alongside us,
Who came not to have his feet washed,
But to wash our feet,
How often do we focus on the smallest parts of your teaching?
We hear your directions to us,
But we only follow you to the degree that suits us.
You call us to wash one another’s feet,
But how far does your instruction go?
Are we to humble ourselves before our families?
Our friends?
Our pew mates?
Our fellow congregation members?
That seems reasonable.
What about the man who lives on the street?
What about the woman who cleans our house?
What about the person whose political beliefs offend us?
That causes us to hesitate.
Are we like Peter,
Begging to have not only our feet,
But our hands and head washed?
When we can wash the feet of a stranger,
Will we be willing to follow you then?
Like Peter, will we deny you?
Teach us to love others as Christ loves us.
Embolden and empower us by your love to live out these mandates of our faith:
To wash the feet of others.
To serve rather than be served.
To give without needing to receive.
Give us grace when we fall short.
Make us ready,
In our hearts and our minds,
To follow your son, Jesus Christ,
In word and action
In love and service.
Help us to see and feel your presence alongside us
As we imperfectly seek to follow Jesus in all we do,
Give us courage to begin anew
when we inevitably stray.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who first taught us the way,
Amen.
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