THE ROYAL FOOTWASHER
Which ruler voluntarily gives up power unless forced to? Not many, for sure. In solid democracies, prime ministers or presidents step down if they are voted out of office. In many countries, however, people of power use tricks and bribes and threats to cling to their positions.
Which daughter or son of a rich man chooses to give their heritage to others? That’s indeed uncommon. Instead, lots of heirs and heiresses in wealthy families get into big fights to defend their rights or increase their portions.
That is the way of man. Or, more precisely: This is the way of sinful man. Me first. Me most. With all the ugly things that entail: Jealousy. Hatred. Resentment. Hostility. And so on.
In December, people all over the world greet each other with MERRY CHRISTMAS! Merry is an old word that means “joyful”. But – what is the joyful part of Christmas? Well, in many places it is about giving and receiving gifts.
People who are well off may give big gifts. But even the greatest gifts are small compared to the first Christmas gift. It’s about an incredibly rich royal person. The most powerful King ever. Who gave something so different. He gave up his position. He stepped down from the throne of power. To do what? To become a foot-washer. A servant. Of all people. All kinds of people.
What is the word for this? Love. Not human love – divine love. Love of a different kind. Christmas is about Christ. The meaning of the word “Christ” is “the anointed one” – which again means the King.
Your country most likely has a political leader. Maybe a King, maybe a president or a prime minister. Can you imagine that leader appearing in poor people’s clothes, start walking the streets and offering to wash people’s dirty feet? Or give them a free shoeshine? Very, very, very unlikely. But if we just play with the thoughts: What IF it happened? What would you think?
I know what my thoughts would be if our king – in my country we have a king – would do that: What an amazing leader! Not only in words, but in real life practice, a SERVANT of all the people. This is what King Jesus did. This is what he still does. He offers to take the dirt that runs deeper than filthy skin on feet having walked a dusty road. Christ goes to the core of our lives. He removes people’s sin. For free. He offers that to everyone. Who will receive. To you, too. If you sincerely ask him to do this dirty job in your life – which he alone can do – it will indeed give you MERRY CHRISTMAS!
