Gospel of John
Have you ever heard the expression: “Perception is reality”.
Perception has to do with how we see the world. And because, as individuals, we often see things differently, then reality often gets expressed differently, depending on how we perceive it.
In our World Day of Prayer, the Women’s Inter-church Council of Canada are asking us to focus our pray and support for the people of the Bahamas, particularly to the women there who have assumed a leadership role in their communities, and who share that special affiliation with the women in our own community and country.
The question that came to mind as I was preparing for tonight was: “what is my perception of the Bahamas and where does it come from?” And If I am going to fully embrace this task of of supporting the people of the Bahamas, then maybe my perception needs to change.
I’ve never been to the Bahamas, but when I think about it, what comes to mind is a vacation spot, or maybe a great place for a cruise. I imagine beautiful beaches, resort hotels, and long walks in the sun or in moon light along the ocean. I imagine a place where I would be served great food, and enjoy good entertainment.
Where does this rather biased perception come from? I would say that it has been developed over time from what I’ve heard from people who have visited there, from what I’ve read, from pictures and brochures in travel magazines, and probably from my own imagination. Is this perception reality? Probably not. So we must be careful with our perceptions, how we see things, because it can create something that may be “reality” for us, but fails to project the true picture.
The theme of the Gospel account from John Chapter 13 is Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. Its message is clear: “For I have set before you an example that you also should do”. During Holy Week, on Thursday evening, this Gospel will be the focus of many of our Christian services. But in this Gospel reading, there is a line that can be easily missed. Recall the point where Jesus and Peter are in discussion. Peter confronts Jesus: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet”, and Jesus says: “You will later understand what I am doing”. But Peter insists: “Lord, you will never wash my feet”. And then the line I would like to focus on: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” He does not say: Stick with me Peter, I’ll explain later. No. He tells Peter: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me”. So what’s going on here. What is Peter’s perception that causes him to respond in the manner that he does? And do we at times have this same perception?
In Peter’s time, there was an ingrained perception that slaves washed the feet of their masters, that servant washed the feet of their benefactors, that children washed the feet of their parents etc. etc. This was the natural order, and you might say an established paradigm. People just could not imagine that reality could be any other way. So it was firmly entrenched as the mindset of the people. So when Jesus Master and Lord approached Peter to wash his feet, it did not fit in with Peter’s mindset. It was not a part of his reality. Peter could wash Jesus’ feet, but not the other way around.
The question that came to mind as I was preparing for tonight was: “what is my perception of the Bahamas and where does it come from?” And If I am going to fully embrace this task of of supporting the people of the Bahamas, then maybe my perception needs to change.
I’ve never been to the Bahamas, but when I think about it, what comes to mind is a vacation spot, or maybe a great place for a cruise. I imagine beautiful beaches, resort hotels, and long walks in the sun or in moon light along the ocean. I imagine a place where I would be served great food, and enjoy good entertainment.
Where does this rather biased perception come from? I would say that it has been developed over time from what I’ve heard from people who have visited there, from what I’ve read, from pictures and brochures in travel magazines, and probably from my own imagination. Is this perception reality? Probably not. So we must be careful with our perceptions, how we see things, because it can create something that may be “reality” for us, but fails to project the true picture.
The theme of the Gospel account from John Chapter 13 is Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. Its message is clear: “For I have set before you an example that you also should do”. During Holy Week, on Thursday evening, this Gospel will be the focus of many of our Christian services. But in this Gospel reading, there is a line that can be easily missed. Recall the point where Jesus and Peter are in discussion. Peter confronts Jesus: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet”, and Jesus says: “You will later understand what I am doing”. But Peter insists: “Lord, you will never wash my feet”. And then the line I would like to focus on: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” He does not say: Stick with me Peter, I’ll explain later. No. He tells Peter: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me”. So what’s going on here. What is Peter’s perception that causes him to respond in the manner that he does? And do we at times have this same perception?
In Peter’s time, there was an ingrained perception that slaves washed the feet of their masters, that servant washed the feet of their benefactors, that children washed the feet of their parents etc. etc. This was the natural order, and you might say an established paradigm. People just could not imagine that reality could be any other way. So it was firmly entrenched as the mindset of the people. So when Jesus Master and Lord approached Peter to wash his feet, it did not fit in with Peter’s mindset. It was not a part of his reality. Peter could wash Jesus’ feet, but not the other way around.
At first, it seems that Peter was acting in humility by refusing to have his feet washed by Jesus, but it’s really not. Peter is acting out of the conditioning of his culture. In Jesus’s response: “Unless I wash you, you have no share in me”, He is really saying to Peter that his perception is disordered. It does not reflect God’s true reality, therefore, if you cannot change, then you are offside with God: “You can have no share in me”.
Now this presents to us a grave challenge. It challenges us to look carefully at our own perceptions of how we see things. It challenges us to examine where they come from, what created them, and ask ourselves; do they conform with Christ and His teachings. It provokes some serious questions: Questions concerning our attitudes in respect to the leadership role of women in our communities, the proper interaction and dialog between Christians from different denominations, between Christians and those of other religions, between Christians and those who oppose our faith. Does Jesus’ example of washing the feet of others apply in these circumstances?
There’s a gospel from Matthew which I believe ties in with this. “While Jesus was talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside wanting to speak to him. Some told Him: Your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you. Jesus replied: Who is my mother, and who are my brothers. Point to his disciples he said: Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father is my brother and sister and mother.”
The washing of another’s feet is a symbolic action. It’s not to be taken literally. It’s focus is towards an expression of service to others, but it runs much deeper than this. It implies an attitude of the mind that is free from our own self-constructed perceptions. It’s an attitude that goes beyond the cultural norms to which we may have become attached like slave serving master. In the Kingdom of God, there are no hierarchical structures of importance. The commission is clear. To share in Christ, we must serve one another, and the service we render goes beyond our ingrained perceptions of what this might be.
This service is the offering of Christ’s love to all whom we meet, regardless of their status, regardless of the religious affiliation, regardless of their moral standing in the community. In fact, the mission aspect of this very unique commission implies that our service be explicitly given to those who may fall outside of our communities, and outside of our cultural norm.
In order to meet and serve the people of the Bahamas as brothers and sisters in Christ, to share in their joys, their sorrows, their needs, I must let go of my perception of the Bahamas as being a vacation spot to entertain and serve my needs. I must see the people there as being seemingly connected with me, with my own joys and sorrows; with my own struggles. I must see that we are both called to carry out that great commission given us by Christ: “I have set before you an example, an example that you also should do to others as I have done to you.”
I would like to conclude with a quote from John Vanier’s book, Community and Growth.
“A community is only a community when the majority of its members is making the transition from “community for myself” to “myself for the community”, when each person’s heart is opening to all the others, without any exception. This is the movement from egoism to love, from death to resurrection; it is the Easter, the Passover of the Lord.”
Now this presents to us a grave challenge. It challenges us to look carefully at our own perceptions of how we see things. It challenges us to examine where they come from, what created them, and ask ourselves; do they conform with Christ and His teachings. It provokes some serious questions: Questions concerning our attitudes in respect to the leadership role of women in our communities, the proper interaction and dialog between Christians from different denominations, between Christians and those of other religions, between Christians and those who oppose our faith. Does Jesus’ example of washing the feet of others apply in these circumstances?
There’s a gospel from Matthew which I believe ties in with this. “While Jesus was talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside wanting to speak to him. Some told Him: Your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you. Jesus replied: Who is my mother, and who are my brothers. Point to his disciples he said: Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father is my brother and sister and mother.”
The washing of another’s feet is a symbolic action. It’s not to be taken literally. It’s focus is towards an expression of service to others, but it runs much deeper than this. It implies an attitude of the mind that is free from our own self-constructed perceptions. It’s an attitude that goes beyond the cultural norms to which we may have become attached like slave serving master. In the Kingdom of God, there are no hierarchical structures of importance. The commission is clear. To share in Christ, we must serve one another, and the service we render goes beyond our ingrained perceptions of what this might be.
This service is the offering of Christ’s love to all whom we meet, regardless of their status, regardless of the religious affiliation, regardless of their moral standing in the community. In fact, the mission aspect of this very unique commission implies that our service be explicitly given to those who may fall outside of our communities, and outside of our cultural norm.
In order to meet and serve the people of the Bahamas as brothers and sisters in Christ, to share in their joys, their sorrows, their needs, I must let go of my perception of the Bahamas as being a vacation spot to entertain and serve my needs. I must see the people there as being seemingly connected with me, with my own joys and sorrows; with my own struggles. I must see that we are both called to carry out that great commission given us by Christ: “I have set before you an example, an example that you also should do to others as I have done to you.”
I would like to conclude with a quote from John Vanier’s book, Community and Growth.
“A community is only a community when the majority of its members is making the transition from “community for myself” to “myself for the community”, when each person’s heart is opening to all the others, without any exception. This is the movement from egoism to love, from death to resurrection; it is the Easter, the Passover of the Lord.”
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