Today is Maundy Thursday, a day in which Christians commemorate Christ's Last Supper with his disciples, his agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, his betrayal and arrest. We celebrate the Lord's Supper with special solemnity on this occasion. We experience a closeness to those happenings of long ago that defies explanation, except to say that by faith, we feel we have been to the Upper Room ourselves.
In the Fourth Gospel (St. John) we find the unique account of Christ's washing of the disciples' feet. In his ministry the Lord had spoken of the call to servanthood before. Now he gave a graphic example of what he meant. He took a basin of water and a towel, knelt before each disciple, and washed their feet. This, ordinarily, was the work of a servant in the household. It was a powerful teaching, not easily understood then or now.
Jesus taught that genuine leadership is based on the capacity to serve others, which arises from a realization of the intrinsic worth of every person made in the image of God. As he served, his followers are to serve.
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