Devotional
Loving Through Service
John 13:1 says “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
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After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, 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.”
What would you say in your last lecture, your last chance to impart some wisdom for your kids, your friends, or the world at large? Many universities invite departing or retiring faculty to offer a “last lecture.” Randy Pausch was dying of pancreatic cancer when his last lecture at Carnegie-Mellon University went viral and then became a best-selling book. That lecture offered inspiring stories about achieving your childhood dreams.
Jesus’ last lecture is different. In John’s Gospel, the last supper becomes an extended talk, the final words Jesus wants to leave with his disciples. But he begins the lecture not with words, but with a jarring demonstration of the posture of humble servanthood. Not inspiring stories, but emulatable deeds. Not focused on oneself, but attentive to what can be done for others.
John tells us what was in Jesus’ heart to begin his last lecture this way: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Because he loved them, he wanted a lesson that would stick with them and impart his loving ways to them. The footwashing example displays that particular love identified with Jesus himself. The new commandment he’s about to give is “to love one another as I have loved you.” His example of love will soon reach its climax, since “no one has greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
God does not call us to grand gestures or inspiring words alone. He calls us to kneel — to see the needs of those around us and to meet them with humility and love. Just as Jesus removed His robe and took up a towel, we are invited to set aside our pride and serve one another in the ordinary moments of everyday life.
It can be easy to love others in theory. It is far more challenging to love them in practice — through patience, sacrifice, and selfless action. Yet this is exactly the love Jesus modeled for us. He, the Lord and Teacher, washed the feet of the very men who would deny and betray Him. That is the depth and breadth of His grace toward us.
As we reflect on Jesus’ last meal with His disciples, and the powerful image of Him kneeling with a basin and towel, let His last lecture move our hearts. May the same love that was and is in Him live in us as well, so that we may do for one another as Jesus has done for us.
So as John 13:15 reminds us, “I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” Go and love — not merely in words, but in deeds.
Prayer: Loving God, who so loved the world that you sent your Son, teach us to express our love not merely in words, but in deeds, as we look to Jesus, who shows us how to love to the end. Amen.
By Dr. Christopher Franks, Chair and Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy and Pre-Ministerial Advisor
