The Church of St. Paul & Incarnation, Jersey City
November 22, 2020
Year A, Proper 29: The Last Sunday after Pentecost – Christ the King
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46
The King Who Washes Feet
I’m sure many of you saw the news the other day about the arrival of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. What’s usually a moment of joy and excitement – Christmas is coming! – became a source of grim humor because the tree looked, well, it looked pretty scraggly, more than a little worse for wear.
Now, follow-up reports insisted that this is actually not unusual and that they’ll get it all fixed up and looking good, but for a lot of people the battered-looking Christmas tree was a bleak symbol of our times, just the latest example, as if we needed one, that this has been a terrible year.
Though, to be fair, they were able to rescue a stowaway owl, the little bird that inadvertently hitched a ride to the big city in the branches of the tree.
So, there’s that.
Then again, maybe they should’ve checked the tree for nests before chopping it down and bringing it to New York.
2020!
It has been a hard year – one unlike any we have ever experienced - one that we’ll never forget, no matter how much we might try.
But, the year is coming to an end.
The world’s calendar still has a few more weeks to go, but today we have arrived at the last Sunday of the church year – the Feast of Christ the King.
As I remind you every year, the Feast of Christ the King is a relatively new addition to the church calendar.
It was first added by the Roman Catholic Church in 1925, and then Anglicans and other Christians followed suit.
Nearly a hundred years ago, the church thought it was important – urgent, even – to remind us that Christ is king because so many Christians were turning to other kings – giving their supreme devotion to political leaders, giving their ultimate loyalty to ideas and ideologies, like nationalism, fascism, communism, capitalism, and so on.
Now, I’d be very glad to stand here this morning on this last Sunday of a rough year and tell you that the creation of this feast a century ago, that this attempt to remind us that Christ is our one and only king, has worked - but all you have to do is turn on the news to know that’s really not true.
This has been a hard year – and we’re not out of the woods, yet – but it has had its beautiful moments, too.
For example, I don’t know about you, but I loved our quiet and simple service of Evening Prayer on Election Day – which may feel like months ago, but was not quite three weeks ago.
At that service, for our gospel lesson, Rev. Laurie and I chose the foot-washing from John’s account of the Last Supper.
Jesus has gathered with his closest friends for one last meal – and even the often thickheaded and clueless disciples recognized that time was growing short – that their teacher and friend – the One they had long hoped for – the One they had recognized as Messiah – was about to leave them.
Jesus uses that final meal to teach some last, vital lessons – lessons that over all these centuries we’ve never forgotten and lessons we’ve had to relearn and adapt a bit during the pandemic:
Jesus is present each time we gather – yes, even over Facebook.
Jesus is bread broken for us – yes, even when you can only see it on a screen or when it gets delivered in a Ziploc bag.
And then there is the foot-washing – a lesson that we haven’t forgotten, exactly, but one that maybe we’ve never fully absorbed.
You remember the scene – it’s the one we retell and reenact every Maundy Thursday.
Jesus gets up from the table, ties a towel around his waist and is about to begin washing his disciples’ feet.
As usual, Peter doesn’t quite get it – or maybe he understands only too well.
Peter objects, horrified by the thought of his Lord performing the lowly work of a servant.
Jesus replies that if Peter won’t allow Jesus to do this then he can’t be part of Jesus.
And when he hears that, Peter quickly changes his tune, even asking Jesus to wash not just his feet, but his whole body.
Washing feet – even in a ritualistic way in church like we do on Maundy Thursday – is a deeply intimate act.
The person being washed is exposed and vulnerable – many of us don’t often show our feet in public, let alone allow someone to wash them.
And, I can tell you from personal experience that the person doing the washing experiences a beautiful sensitivity and tenderness – it’s a kind of communion that moves me to tears every year – and it’s hard not to get choked up thinking about it today when we can’t even hug each other or just shake hands.
At the Last Supper, after Jesus has washed everyone’s feet, he says to his friends:
“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.”
In that unexpected and beautifully loving act, Jesus offers us such a radically different vision of leadership.
It’s really the reverse of the leadership we usually find in the world, no matter who is in power.
Jesus is the king who washes feet – and, if we want to live in his kingdom then we have got to wash some feet, too.
Sometimes that may mean literally washing some feet, but, as we heard in today’s gospel lesson, if we want to be counted among the sheep, we’ve got to feed the hungry, offer refreshment to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned.
Jesus’ words about the sheep and the goats continue the theme we’ve been hearing in the parables from the past few weeks – some bridesmaids are wise while others are lazy – some slaves are brave while others are fearful - some are saved, while others are cast into the outer darkness.
But, here’s something you might not have noticed about today’s gospel lesson:
This time Jesus is not talking about his own followers – he’s speaking about other people who are not disciples – who, no matter what they may believe or don’t believe, are saved because they are kind and generous to people in need.
And, if that's true for people who aren't disciples then it must be even more true for us, right?
And, then there’s that one last twist: when they – or we – wash feet or feed the hungry or clothe the naked, it turns out we are caring for Christ himself.
In the words of Mechtilde, a medieval mystic whose feast day was yesterday:
“Love your fellow beings – for they are all tabernacles of God.”
So, here in church anyway, a difficult year is coming to a close.
Next week we get to begin again with Advent – when we prepare for the birth of Jesus in simplicity and the return of Christ in glory.
We don’t know what the months ahead will bring, but we can make some new year’s resolutions.
With God’s help, let’s rededicate ourselves to caring for people in need, on our own and by supporting Triangle Park, Garden State Episcopal, the Lighthouse, Family Promise, Jersey City Together, the ministries that we pray for every week – the people who feed and clothe and shelter Christ every day.
And, no matter our political views, no matter how we feel about the election and what has happened since and what is yet to come, let’s remember who should receive our ultimate devotion.
It’s Jesus.
The King who washes feet.
Amen.
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