As you read above about Confession, the same is true for having your feet washed on Maundy Thursday: All can; some should; none must. I offer, though, for your thought and prayer, the following piece written by Brother Luke Ditewig of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist as part of the 5 Marks of Love Lenten program:
Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” He said this having gone around the table kneeling down to wash each of his friends’ feet. To wash the feet that were dirty, messy, they stank. Feet I think are figurative for our vulnerability, which we really are when we show up. Things that we don’t necessarily want to show others, it’s risky, it’s emotionally exposing, but it’s real, which we are right now. And like Peter, we often say, “Jesus, I don’t want you to wash my feet.” But Jesus’ response to Peter and us is, “If I don’t wash you, you have no share with me. I need to wash your feet. I love you fully as you are.”
I find it’s easier for me to go and wash someone else’s feet, to go out and serve the world, to listen to others, to care for others. But I, too, need to be washed. Love comes out of being loved. We, too, need to accept another’s invitation to let our feet be washed, to show up as we are, to share our story honestly, to share our emotions to be real.
So come and have your feet washed, and consider how you might do the same either literally or figuratively to show your love for others.
Saint Matthias' Episcopal Church 