WASH someone’s feet
Prepping for washing feet this summer, I’m thinking of this from Science and Health:
In patient obedience to a patient God, let us labor to dissolve with the universal solvent of Love the adamant of error, — self-will, self-justification, and self-love, — which wars against spirituality and is the law of sin and death.
If someone is sick or in pain I’m quick to have compassion. But if someone is acting badly, maybe hurting themselves or others, I often blame them, feeling frustration, anger, even fury.
That’s refusing to wash feet. It implies that life-success is in avoiding ugliness. Foot-washing, however, says that life-success is right there, with the dirty feet, cleaning up the ugliness. I’m excited to see this for myself.
The quote above makes it clear that “dirt on feet” is all the fear, hatred, and grossness that come with believing we’re separate from God. Only the universal solvent of Love can wash away the belief of separateness, in me and in others.
What feels so radical about this is that I’m going to have to shut down my willingness to be mad and frustrated. Because it’s those very situations that require tender cleaning more than others.
This is going to pull me out of a sense of being in control of my life. Call on me to be more patient, forgiving, and merciful than feels normal to me. OK! I’m in. How about you?
Alex Cook, June 2012
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Topics: Love
Have you all seen this video about a man who serves and feeds the needy in India?
The chef who feeds the hungry mentions at the end how in his orthodox Brahmin tradition, he is not supposed to touch, feed, or interact with these people. I love the simplicity which he uses to rise above those walls. Sometimes I find myself at a loss for knowing what to do because I get tripped up in words. But Jesus’ teachings are about living :-) It’s so lovely to see how happy this man is in his service! I love the respect which he shows everyone he is serving.
the man in this video, Narayanan Krishnan, is an excellent example of a Christian Science Nurse, whether he knows about Christian Science or not!
Thank you for bringing us back to this inspired account of Jesus and his disciples. There is tremendous power in teaching by example, and the foot-washing is a tangible expression of divine Love working itself out in the experience of the disciples. When we read the story, it provides us with insight into the deeper questions about: Who is God? Who am I? Who is the other? The story draws us in because it illuminates the truth about Love and its irresistable draw on us.
I live in a small community in WA State and every year we self-organize to provide health and human services at a one-day event for the benefit of our homeless neighbors. It is part of a larger effort to end homelessness locally. Every year we observe the same miracles and wonders take place as people from all walks of life show up to offer hospitality, or deliver service for the day, or get help along the road to a better life.
When I meet someone (maybe a homeless guest or a community volunteer or service provider) months after an event, more often than not I hear their account of a life transformed ~ eyes openned, respect offered and received, help accepted, equity, mutual regard, affection expressed, etc. There are many other examples of this force shaping our experience every day, but each one is about Love being reflected in love as Mrs. Eddy would say.
Thank you, Bruce, for sharing the community service project you do – what a great idea and way to bless others. Your words are very inspiring.
A few weeks ago I was working with a group of people on a project. At one point some of the people turned on me and were on the attack, and the others in the group weren’t supporting me. It was hard not to take it personally, so I got angry, hurt and bitter. I was supposed to work with these people for two more months and I was miserable. And as is my habit, I was thinking about quitting the group and putting those people behind me. This time I decided to do something else. I didn’t know how to change my feelings, they seemed so real and powerful. It came to me to look at the Radical Acts website. I looked at all the acts and decided to pick the one that made me the most uncomfortable, rationalizing that that was probably where I needed the most improvement. So I started reading Alex Cook’s post in Wash Someone’s Feet. He says, “ ‘dirt on feet’ is all the fear, hatred, and grossness that come with believing we’re separate from God. Only … Love can wash away the belief of separateness, in me and in others… I’m going to have to shut down my willingness to be mad and frustrated. Because it’s those very situations that require tender cleaning more than others.” And suddenly I wasn’t mad anymore, I was so filled with love for these people that all I wanted to do was apologize for my seeing them as anything less that God’s beloved. Of course they let the whole thing go. We went on to have one of the most fulfilling events of my life, loving and supporting each other the whole time. I have literally been transformed by this experience with the Radical Acts site.
Thank you, Jessica, that’s wonderful! A complete turnaround. God showed you love, you showed them love, and they gave that back. Love’s contagious!
Your story is a bright spot in my day. Thanks for letting your light shine!
So grateful Jessica for this story!
My example of “washing someone’s feet” took place in a nursing home where I worked as an aide. One evening I went into a room to check on a very sweet patient I was assigned to; I met her roommate who seemed to be just the opposite – very grumpy and unpleasant. I happened to notice the “grumpy” lady’s feet and saw that her toenails were very long and way past time for clipping. (I thought maybe the other staff didn’t particularly want to do her nails because she was so unpleasant and ungrateful.) Even though I didn’t want to do it either and wasn’t required to do so since she wasn’t my patient, I knew she needed assistance, so I started to clip her nails.
Her sweet roommate expressed so much gratitude for my willingness to help; it was apparent she cared about her friend and didn’t see her as grumpy. As I tended to the lady’s nails, the other woman laid in her bed saying her evening prayers. Even though she had few worldly possessions and didn’t live in a particularly great nursing home, her prayers were full of gratitude.
I will never forget how wonderful it was to listen in – I thought that must be what it’s like for God to hear our sincere prayers. And a valuable lesson was learned that night…that it doesn’t take worldly riches to give someone a blessed life – one to be grateful for. I felt that I had been truly blessed by doing that simple act of kindness.
I later learned(and it was no surprise) that the lady praying was a Christian Scientist – she always carried a bag of books with her – her Bible and Science and Health. She obviously “beheld the perfect man” when she looked upon her roommate and loved her – another valuable lesson learned.
This reminds me of a friend’s grandmother. She was in her 80s and had lost both legs, but she was so cheerful, grateful, and full of spiritual thoughts that a large extended family competed for the opportunity to take care of her. And another friend, also in her 80s, who was badly injured in a car accident. When I rushed to the hospital, full of fear after hearing that she might not walk again, I found her sitting up in bed cracking jokes. Her tee shirt, a gift from her pastor, said, “I’m not lucky, I’m blessed!”
Thanks so much for your story, and for reminding me of these two beautiful women!
Oh, Nina, those two stories are so sweet, thank you for sharing them. We can all learn a thing or two from their perspectives. I think I will get a shirt made that has that saying on it - “I’m not lucky, I’m blessed!” How true!
There’s an awesome new blog that was just posted from Alex Cook. He’s done a lot of work in the local jail. He tells a story of a prisoner who cleaned up and cared for another man in jail. Its really moving. Here it is: http://time4thinkers.com/riches-of-the-heart/.
Thank you for sharing Alex Cook’s blog – it is so inspiring, and I posted it three different places on FB.
Love this version of “foot-washing” that the media is going ga-ga over right now. Such a beautiful, simple act, but with a profound connection to Jesus’ own example.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/nypd-boots-homeless-man-photo-145219581.html
Thanks Jenny . . . what a moving addition to this page!
Thank you all for sharing your moving experiences! Foot washing is such a healing practice. As a Christian Science nurse, I do a lot of literal foot washing. Caring for others in such a gentle, loving, tender way has been such a blessing. Both the giving and the receiving is such a graceful, humble, joyous act! I have tended to always be more than willing to go to any length to care for others, to strive to see the best, but not so much for myself. My whole struggle has been with a false sense of self. The cruelty I felt towards myself, mentally and physically and the neglect and self-condemnation nearly drove me to suicide. What an amazing thing to find that as I moved from the mental baptism of studying CS, out into this act of washing and caring for others in such a prayfully practical way, that I would come out clean myself! I had no idea that the self-loathing which I felt was a permanent way of feeling about myself and my body would flow away as I felt such care for others who needed it. It has been like looking in the mirror in a way. Here was someone who needed care that at the moment they couldn’t entirely do for themselves… It helped me to see that I was worthy of the same care. The disdain I had for myself and the cruelty I felt towards my body are completely gone through expressing the Christ in such a way… and “Love is reflected in love”! (MBEddy)
Dear Patricia,
What you have shared so generously and beautifully is a very profound lesson.
Thank you,
Kristin
You’re welcome Krisin. :) I jut realized that the two ‘radical acts’ which I felt most drawn to were this one and ‘cast the beam out of your own eye’. I see now that there’s a direct correlation! As I have let my own feet be washed and heart be cleansed spiritually, this has cast the beam out of my viewpoint progressively from one of condemnation of myself to yielding to grace… This clear unimpeded beam of light can then shine out and help wash away from the feet and hearts of others anything that appears to be blocking the clear view. Thank God we can work out what needs to be worked out and ‘disentangle the interlaced ambiguities of being’ (MBE) in thought, and remove the false sense of oppression of the human body. The body is innocent and through ‘repentance, spiritual baptism and regeneration’ (MBE) thought is washed clean and we can see ourselves and others as we really are!
edit: *Kristin *just :)
Ohhh Patricia, I can so sympathize with what you’re saying! I know exactly how you felt, and feel now. I am so, so happy to hear that you’ve found yourself to be worthy of care.
I’ve been really enjoying recently how feeling like you have a mission, and the unselfishness that brings, both immediately drive out self-condemnation, self-consciousness, fear. It’s not just a soothing of those problems, either — it’s like completely breaking through them. Isn’t it gorgeous how that happens?
It is gorgeous! :) it shows the true viewpoint that we’ve always been seen from! When I feel such love and compassion for someone who is struggling, I realize that this is the only way to feel towards myself… Not that I’ve thought about it intellectually, but I now realize that this has all been part of Love revealing what Love really is. All of the resentment at myself started flowing away through this love (I had prayed to God a couple months before being led into CS nurses’ training, “God, I don’t want my own love… Teach me to love divinely.” I couldn’t seem to touch the trying to love myself idea… But, through this unselfed love I slowly felt worthy as well. God’s way of leading and teaching us is just so so sweet and perfect. We’re never pushed beyond what we’ll be able to receive in the moment. Our hearts are always prepared first so we don’t recoil from goodness because of shame and a sense of worthlessness… That loving-kindness nurtures us until we will fully accept what God has already given us!
Patricia, what a truly radical act you’ve shared above. Thank you so much!
With all this focus today on foot washing, I wanted to share this video again in case anyone missed it. Jeani’s work helped inspire Radical Acts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VquOE9aakpY Click “show more” to see Jeani’s beautiful message to all Radical Act-ors.
Hi Nina! I love this story! I saw it awhile back and just loved it so much.
” Our hearts are always prepared first so we don’t recoil from goodness because of shame and a sense of worthlessness…”
I got goose bumps when I read what dear Patricia wrote (above). It brought me back to a momentous day when I was reading the chapter in Science and Health – “Christian Science Practice”. I always wondered why Mary Baker Eddy began this chapter with a story of Jesus and a woman who washed his feet. I mean why not Jesus healing a leper, a cripple, a blind man or a dead girl as an initial illustration of what a Christian Science healer does?!
That day, as I read the chapter, instead of doing my usual cursory “getting the moral of the story” from each character - Simon the self-righteous snob, Mary Magdalene the penitent, Jesus the healer and teacher, I found myself drawn into the woman’s story – a history of sinning, excluded by the successful non-screwing up people, defying all social propriety to enter and expose herself where she didn’t belong, and as if that all isn’t “ugh!” enough, throwing herself at Jesus feet, heart and soul bared for all to judge.
She looked shameful and worthless by any standards BUT Jesus’. He saw a heart prepared!!!!
And to this day I’m specially conscious that this is what a heart prepared may look like. Not peacefully blissful at church service (though of course it could look like that too) but also, barging uninvited, making a scene, on knees or flat out, snotty nosed sobbing, grabbing at the Savior’s feet.
As I pondered this, two things hit me like bricks to the head. One - I had, like the woman, repented and reformed, but couldn’t forgive myself no matter how hard I tried and how much I needed to (I was a horrible self-condemner) and two - only Christ could. And that second brick to the head (which of course was thrown BY Christ) had the effect of opening my heart to accept my redemption. A few years later now (its been a gentle and gradual happening), I can honestly say, I feel forgiven, redeemed and saved by Christ, by every true idea that’s voiced my inherent goodness to me. And I “love much”, though always there’s room for more.
And as if that isn’t enough, I always get twisted into little knots of humble happiness when I read -
“If the Scientist has enough Christly affection to win his own pardon, and such commendation as the Magdalen gained from Jesus, then he is Christian enough to practise scientifically and deal with his patients compassionately; and the result will correspond with the spiritual intent.” (S&H 364: 20-24).
With another brick to the head, I realized that Mary Baker Eddy opened that chapter with this story to show, NOT Jesus as the “Christian Science healer” (he’s the Savior), but the woman- the woman! is Mary Baker Eddy’s illustration of a healer!!!
Thanks Patricia, I hope to hear more from you!
Tricia, I’ve loved that sentence from “CS Practice” forever, and followed you brick for brick through these same levels of understanding . . . except for the very last brick, which is fascinating to consider. Thank you!
Others who love that quote and its many layers of meaning will enjoy a Radical Act story from Fenella Bennetts on the FORGIVE page from August 11th. http://time4thinkers.com/7-forgive-70-x-7/
Oh Tricia, thank you for your sharing all of that! I also love that she opens the chapter that way and it was so deeply embracing for me when I first read it because that’s how I ‘came in’! Tears would be flowing down my face in church with a mixture of awe, joy and sorrow being washed away. There’s nothing more holy than needing God with all our heart. It’s powerful to even write that right now, but it’s just so true. There’s nothing higher, no further along that we should be, than right where we are with our hearts open to Love’s presence. I’m so grateful that Love is greater than anything… So grateful that we’re all here seeing this together! I hope to hear more from you too :))
My husband and I are walking along the beach barefoot today, letting the ocean waves wash our feet. We have been coming to this beach for about twenty five years now. Our little daughter used to dance along the shore trailing a long piece of kelp behind her. Our little son would lift his tender feet and not want them to touch the sand, so we held his hands and swung him along.
Once in winter we came to this cove and the waves had washed every single speck of sand away. The beach was entirely hard slabs of ocean engraved rock. We were dismayed! How did this happen? The power of the surf was able to move an entire beach?
At some seasons of our twenty five years together, and today is our silver anniversary, it felt like the waves of life would sweep away our happiness. The seeming end of a fulfilling career, the death of my husband’s parents, changes in our bodies and the tug of mortality as we mourned the loss of our younger selves.
But this beach cove tells us of God’s care for us. Every time we walk here the waves still wash our feet. The ocean’s “breath” as another Radical Actor coined it breathes its sweet perfume through our souls.
It’s been over a decade since that career ended and another began. My husband had a conference call early this morning for a project in Africa that his “new” company is working on. His experience has expanded from our local area to a worldwide view. We just had all of our video tapes transferred to an online company and with a click we can see our children snuggled in the arms of their grandparents. Our hearts are warmed. We still recognize each other in our eyes, and in the touch of our hands, as we hold them and walk.
When we visited this cove the following season the entire sandy beach had been returned to the shore. It was a miracle! Nature showed us the power of Love. We have experienced “sweet seasons of renewal” many times through this lesson. SH 57:13.
The diamond is a traditional symbol of marriage. It is the most durable of gems. It remains unchanged though knocked and banged and drowned in endless dish washings. When the beautiful beaches in our lives seem washed away, my husband and I have found that our harmony and immortality are intact. The spiritual record, engraved on our hearts “with the point of a diamond” is what is true now, and will be forever.
Let this truth wash over you and bring renewal.
“The harmony and immortality of man are intact. We should look away from the opposite supposition that man is created materially, and turn our gaze to the spiritual record of creation, to that which should be engraved on the understanding and heart “with the point of a diamond” and the pen of an angel.”
SH 521: 12-17
Lovely! Thank you for sharing this!
You’re the real deal Anonymous! “Loving every pocket, button and loop”. Please keep blessing this website. It needs you!
My brother made a large bench swing in wood shop in high school. I found it under a pile of stuff in the garage, dusted it off, and had it hung from a large oak tree in the back yard. Wasn’t sure he ever really noticed. My children and their friends and cousins loved it.
One day my brother came home. He had no place else to go. I knew he struggled with addiction to crystal meth. I called a drug counseling center to get information about it. They frightened me. They said loud and strong that under no circumstances was I to let my young teen-age kids anywhere near him. I was torn in two as I wanted to protect my family – yet I could see my brother’s need.
I called a Christian Science practitioner. He told me how important it was to be quiet and gentle with my brother. He told me to tell him that the world needed him. Tell him, he said, even if he appears not to hear. I decided not to act out of fear of a drug, but to act out of love. I felt that as I loved, God’s power would be with me. With all of us. “Love is reflected in love” is another way to say it.
My son was away for awhile with his school. I gave his room to my brother. Clean sheets. Shampoo. Tons of Legos. A teddy bear, and the book “Guess How Much I Love You” on the shelf. Every detail of the neat and orderly room reflected the depth of care I had for my son, and now for my brother too. My brother slept in the youth size bed. The coughing from deep in his chest throughout the night ripped my heart.
I noticed that he put his clothes in my son’s dirty clothes basket. They reeked of chemicals. It was as if the chemicals had poured out of my brother’s skin into the fabric. It was nauseating to pick the clothes up, to touch them. But I did.
I washed his clothes, loving every pocket and every button and every belt loop.
One day, as I stood at the kitchen sink preparing dinner, with my back to my brother, I quietly said “the world needs you.” I felt his presence behind me. I didn’t say it, but in my mind the thought also rang out “and, you are God’s beloved son”.
When my son returned home my brother graciously moved on. The complete story of his transformation is his to tell. But I will say this – a few years later he brought his bride to be married in front of his swing.
Here’s another kind of “foot” washing, Anonymous. When you tell a story so beautiful it washes us in tears. I have family members with scary addictions. I’ve taken them in — but never loved their buttons or belt loops. This story opens all kinds of radical possibilities. Thank you very, very much!
Dear friend,
Thank you so much for sharing your story. It would be wonderful to hear your brother’s story too, here, but I know he is living his story and blessing many. Thank you so much for sharing your willingness to listen to the Christ message about your brother, and how you can treat him, rather than giving in to fear. Every single time we yield to Christ, instead of giving in to fear, we are living a victory that blesses the whole world. The world, of course, dearly needs your brother – as it needs you! I am so grateful for this humble example of washing feet. This Radical Act is quietly becoming clearer to me, in it’s special unique way of loving others, and your sharing has shined a great light.
Thank you!
The most beautiful example of washing another’s feet that I have seen in my lifetime is the example of how my mom takes care of her mother. As a young girl, my mom endured an immense amount of emotional and physical abuse from her mother. But, as my grandmother has gotten older, and become increasingly unable to take care of her basic needs, my mother has never once neglected to take care of her. She visits her almost every day, and constantly prays to see that age can not hinder my grandmother’s mental or physical capabilities.
One day, almost a year ago, my grandmother banged her ankle against the door while walking in her condominium. I had arrived at her apartment to check up on her, a daily routine that my mom and I share together. When I arrived at my grandmother’s, I noticed an incredible amount of dried blood on her ankle. Greatly concerned for her welfare, and feeling unsure about my ability to provide adequate care, I immediately called my mother and told her about my grandmother’s injury.
My mother arrived at my grandmother’s later that evening, to help clean and address her wound. She spent almost three hours washing my grandmother’s feet, and bandaging her ankle. My mother prepared a footbath for my grandmother, where she let her feet soak before washing and scrubbing her skin, addressing the many sore spots on her feet, clipping her toenails, cleansing the blood from her ankle, bandaging her injury, and wrapping her toes in cotton balls so that her feet wouldn’t be as sore when she walked. Even more than the physical attention my mother paid towards taking care of my grandmother’s feet, is the depth of spiritual support she gave throughout the entire “treatment”. The atmosphere surrounding this footbath was pure, heavenly. There was no room for anything but the presence of Christ here. Furthermore, this ritual was repeated consistently for the next few months.
I have been so deeply moved by witnessing the incredible love and care my mother expresses towards my grandmother on a daily basis. I haven’t witnessed a greater example of maternal love, love that is unconditional and forgiving of the greatest wrongs, including severe physical abuse. My mother has certainly been able to demonstrate Christ’s command, love your neighbor as yourself, and do unto others as ye would do unto you. I feel incredibly blessed by having both of these remarkable women in my life. I couldn’t ask for a greater mom, or a more profound example of forgiveness.
I’ve loved reading each of these comments….so inspiring, and humbling.
One of the things I have learned from footwashing is to touch without tickling. I’m sure this sounds like a funny outcome of this deeply spiritual practice, but it’s also been one of the most important.
It didn’t take long to discover that people’s feet can be very sensitive. And that if my thought was focused on what I was doing to them…it was a disaster. There was an element of sentience to what I was doing. In this sentient scenario, one person was doing something to the point of stimulating the other person to the point of reacting. In other words, I was someone doing something to someone else.
But when I focused on the act of footwashing as a divinely choreographed act of grace. A “dance’ between two of God’s ideas…the “tickling” was not an issue. This shift happened so often that I couldn’t ignore it.
Footwashing became an exercise in doing something without a sense of ego…or a “me” doing it. God was moving my hands. God was placing her feet in those hands. I didn’t think that the person’s feet were tickling my hands. It was a false sense of “doing” that led to the view of this deeply humbling act as, one of us being the doer, and the other being the object…or victim (in the case of tickling) of what was being done.
It was based in hierarchy…the servant and the served. When, in reality, we were both surrendering pride, control,
Could this have been, in part, Jesus’ response to Peter’s competition with John for their Master’s favor?
Do this to one another…no hierarchy…everyone washing, everyone washed. A dance of grace…
I love your insight Kate written so beautifully (as you do). Simple act done in righteousness, big wisdom. I don’t think a day goes by during which at some point, I have to give my “ego” a pat on the head, tell it to be a good little thing and go sit in the corner. Then things really open up :)
Thanks you guys! Yes, humility is a big one to learn better. These moments really are God loving us, that’s for sure!
Annette, your story brought tears to my eyes. Wow, did God give you an incredible lesson in humility! She loves you very much :)
Awesome! Thanks for this, Annette.
When I first joined our branch church, there were a lot of what you’d call “strong personalities” on the committees. One woman in particular was a real challenge for me. I’d go home from board meetings in tears.
As the years went by, I didn’t deal with the situation very well, but just tried to avoid her when I could. It got to the point where her husband passed on, and she quit driving. Since I was the church member who lived closest to her, I picked her up for church twice a week. That sounds like a loving thing to do, but I did it with clenched teeth, dreading it the whole time.
One day she called and I was so exasperated! I hung up, closed my eyes and thought, “God, please tell me what you see in her, because I don’t get it!” Before I could even finish the thought, I heard, “I delight in her!” I sat down right there where I was and let that sink in. It was so clear that the thought had come from God. In fact, when I think of it all these years later, it still moves me. I knew if God delighted in her, then I needed to love her a lot more than I was!
The opportunity came a short time after this. She needed some daily bandaging done on her feet and legs. The nearest CS nurse was too far away to come every day, so she asked if I’d be willing to come help her with the bandaging. Although I love CS nurses and all they do, I know it’s not my calling. But, I said I would. A CS nurse came and showed me what to do. I went over every day and really put into practice my desire to love her more—to see her as God did. One particular day I hadn’t felt like going over at all. There I was, sitting on her floor, with her feet in my lap, washing her legs before bandaging. I thought of Jesus, washing the feet of each disciple and loving each one for their uniqueness as he was doing it. I was overcome with the humble nature of this loving task. My friend has since passed on, but those hours I spent with her, listening to her tell me about her upbringing and her early days of parenting, really opened my eyes to some of her more gentle qualities. I was thankful for it then, and still am today. This humble lesson of washing someone’s feet has helped to shape other relationships I’ve had in church work and in other parts of my life.
This is SO moving Annette. How humble she must have felt too, asking for your help…..
Dear Annette, God bless you for your willingness to be so kind to someone you were struggling to “delight in”. You truly did God’s work and were a blessing to her; I’m glad you realize you were blessed as well. Thank you for sharing this healing and inspiration.
The most awful summer of my life was the summer after my freshman year in college, when I couldn’t find a job ANYWHERE. I had applied to all the places I thought I would enjoy working–bookstores, summer library programming, that kind of thing. But not one of them called me back. Finally I saw an ad for a counselor position at a local community center. I like kids, so I thought, how bad could it be?
What I wasn’t prepared for was that when I got the job, I was assigned to be head counselor for sixteen 6-year-old boys. And my co-counselor? He was a 14-year-old boy.
I was miserable. It was 10,000 degrees outside, most of the boys were impossible to control, and I spent every day feeling like all I was doing was keeping our camp group from self-destructing.
Several boys in particular were a real handful. And though I was praying each day to recognize the good in them, and to focus on that good, most days I felt like I’d failed at holding to a more Christlike view.
Then one afternoon, during a dodgeball game, one of my least favorite campers collided with another boy. Not to get too graphic, but when he rolled over screaming, his face covered in blood, I realized he’d bitten most of the way through his tongue.
But here’s the strange part. Even though the sight of blood usually makes me faint, and even though this kid had tried my patience to the very limit just half an hour before the dodgeball game, in the moment of that accident, I felt this Christlike love sweep over me. That’s the only way I can describe it. I would have done ANYTHING for that kid in that moment. It was over a hundred degrees outside, but I put him on my back and ran 3/4 of a mile to the lifeguard station where there was a medic. And the whole way, all I could think about was how innocent this child was–and how loved by God.
I feel like it was the ultimate foot-washing experience for me, in that all the gross human particulars of that scene were blotted out in that moment of allowing Christ to monopolize my heart. I can’t really describe it any other way. I didn’t have to muster humility; I didn’t even feel like I had to muster anything. It was like all the praying I’d been doing all summer crystallized in that instant when I needed to express that pure love.
(The camper was fine, by the way. In fact, he was quite popular among my campers after that because of his tongue stitches. ;) )
I’ve thought about this experience a lot in the years since then, because of the effortlessness of that moment. All the elements of that situation could have been overwhelming or upsetting. But instead I felt something holy. Makes me want to wash more feet!
I love that THIS Radical Act is the last one on the home page grid…
Washing feet is, for me, the culmination of discipleship, and the supreme model for serving others. To accept this “last lesson” from our Master as the “gift of gifts” drives me to my knees…again and again…and again.
Jesus is a man who allowed himself to be taught this greatest lesson by a woman of questionable reputation. He doesn’t posture for the Pharisee and his guests, but pays attention to her…and he learns from her. Then later he assumes this posture of supreme humility in serving his own disciples and in urging them to do this to (and for) one another.
It is through these “foot washing” stories that I accepted Jesus as my Shepherd, and my Savior. This act of humility, love, and compassion has reclaimed me as his disciple so many times. Whether I am on the foot washing side, or the side of the basin where my feet are being washed…his care for my spiritual life, in showing us “how” to stay “on our knees” leaves me speechless.
His model of serving…rather than being served, of staying on your knees…rather than on a pedestal, of caring for those who love you..rather than asking them to care for you, of willing to be naked before your friends…rather than being clothed in royal robes, of listening deeply enough to hear thoughts…rather than expecting to be heard, it is in this act of washing feet that he “had me.”
It’s no wonder that Mary Baker Eddy would use this very radical act to keynote the chapter “Christian Science Practice” in her primary work, “Science and health with Key to the Scriptures,” a chapter that teaches each reader “how” to heal, and bring freedom from sin.
When I think of all the “last lessons” Jesus could have taught his disciples on that last night…when I think of all the stories Mrs. Eddy could have used to illustrate the heart of healing…and that this is the one…well, it makes me weep and takes my breath away.
Thank you for encouraging the practice of this Radical Act this summer…and forever.
with Love, k.
Ahhhh, moms and the mom spirit are wonderful. Even something as simple as making unsolicited pancakes just goes to prove it.
The awesome thing is, every single person has the capacity to be as selfless as a mom. I love how the people thinking about and practicing this Radical Act are doing just that — being like mamas, and expressing the gentle motherhood of God in their interactions.
I think mothers are a great example of people who everyday wash their childrens feet. They do this through their prayers and actions. Sometimes it is easy to miss the small actions of good that happen to us each day.
This morning I woke up later than everyone else. The rest of my family was at school, working, running errands, and getting things done that they needed to complete their day. What woke me up was the strong aroma of the pancakes they had all eaten much earlier for breakfast. Upon walking upstairs I found none and was disappointed that I didnt get any, now that I craved them. As I was about to walk back downstairs in defeat, my mom popped into the kitchen. I told her my sadness of missing out on the great food I had missed out on and she took an extra half an hour out of her day to make me some as well as clean up the dishes she used.
I didnt ask her to make the pancakes nor did she ask anything of me in return. It was such a small but powerful express of love. It represents washing someones feet in that it was an incredibly kind, above and beyond gesture. All she wanted to show was how much she loved me and she put that love into action.
Being involved in Radical Acts has been very comforting to me. When I was a teenager, and beginning to feel how deep spirituality is, and how awesome God is, I often found myself wondering, “Shouldn’t church be more, well, radical, than it is?”
Since then I have come to see that in some ways, church is very radical, but Radical Acts has made it public, visible, and necessary. I love that, and I love that my church embraces this.
I’m so grateful to everyone for their sharing here! Taking the time to read all these beautiful thoughts and stories, some of which choked me up, has been such a blessing. I thought I’d share a moment of huge growth for me that involved other people’s feet.
One of my cousins was staying with my family and me for a summer before heading off to college. She loved to sit near me on the couch and put her feet up against my leg. I found this challenging as I really did not like other people’s feet – not a fan. I didn’t like the dirt, the smell, and even the look of feet. :P I knew she was trying to be loving. So I would work really hard not to be grossed out. But she picked up on it, and it really hurt her feelings that I wouldn’t want her feet on me. I tried to explain, but to her, she was being affectionate, and that’s all she thought I should feel.
That night I went to God in prayer. I hated the idea that I was making my cousin feel unloved, or worse, unlovable in any way. I wanted her to feel valued and cared for, to really know how much I loved her. I prayed a lot, but I went to bed still feeling icky about feet.
The next morning, as I got ready for the day, I prayed more. My desire for my cousin to feel totally accepted and loved had grown over night. I finally said, “OK God, I’ll do whatever you want. Just show me how to help her feel my love.” I didn’t like the answer one bit. “Go into the living room, where everyone is, and kiss the bottoms of everyone’s feet.” No! That’s disgusting! I’m the only one who has showered. There are 5 people out there. Can’t I just kiss my cousin’s feet and leave it at that? “No. Kiss them all.”
Think about it! I didn’t like my cousin putting her feet against my jeans so much that I had to pray for myself. Now God was asking me to kiss the dirty, smelly feet on every family member in the house. But I really did want my cousin to know how much I loved her and that she was worth the effort. So, to the huge surprise of everyone, I went into the living room, pulled off everyone’s socks, and kissed the bottoms of their feet – and not hesitantly. I got into this activity. I saved my cousin for last, and then I sat down by her on the couch and put both her feet on my lap.
She was amazed. She asked me why I had just done that, and I told her about my prayers and what God had said. I told her I had asked for a way to show her how much I loved her. She said it worked. She knew how much feet had bothered me and couldn’t believe that I would go to that extent to prove to her that I valued her and loved her.
It was a fantastic healing for me. I learned something of what real love is through that experience. I learned that God never sees one bit of us as gross or lacking in beauty and value and that I need to work every day to have that same view of all. I’m still learning these lessons.
Is this the funniest story on Radical Acts? I think so! :)))))))))
Definitely funny. And I now feel like I have to work HARD and QUICK to get over my foot repulsion so that I don’t have to do what you did, Dawn-Marie!!! :)
I always thought that when Jesus washed the disciples feet, it was because of meekness. That Jesus wanted to show that he was no better than any one else. I never thought that it meant to see others as God sees them. Thank you. Both ideas are worth thinking about.
Many people have been coming in and out of my families home this summer visiting us. Its all out of love, but at times it has been so frustrating. None of these people have gotten rental cars or booked flights on the same days. Its been a total hassle and Ive felt like half my summer has been consumed of picking up and dropping off people at the airport!
The other day while driving I felt extremely flustered. I wasnt even picking up one of my friends or family members but anothers and was completely alone in the car. I felt lower than the bottom of a foot, I was so upset because I felt like I had better things to do and better places to be. ME ME ME ME.
I had to take a moment to shut off the radio and really quiet my thoughts. Again back to me, I couldnt believe how focused I was on myself. I drove the rest of the car ride in silence just thinking and praying for others. When arriving to the airport I found the friend I need to drive and we had a great ride home. This friend explained to me how grateful they were to have me as a driver and how much it ment that they didnt have to find another mode of transportation as it was their first time to LA and they were a bit overwhelmed by the airport already!
I felt so completed by picking this person up. I had felt like it was a dirty chore such as washing someones feet but once they were in the car (like the feet would be squeeky clean) I was so gratiful to God that I was the one who was able to do something for someone and have them feel so happy to have me be helpful.
Thank you, one and all, for all these from-the-heart stories and comments. Each one has touched me. Many uplifting and thought-provoking aspects of foot washing have been shared, but there’s one in particular that ignited a big AHA! moment for me.
In Kate’s comments, she talked about how footwashing removes any evidence of the past. Ahhhhhh . . . that is what resonated deeply with me. Of course, multitudes of blessings can abound from footwashing, both the mental and the physical kind, and from being both/either the washer or washee. But oh, how simply profound it is for me to see how footwashing (again, both physical and metaphysical) is such a part of truly being able to live in God’s holy here and now.
Our feet bear evidence of where we have walked–just moments before, and also miles (and years) before. What would it be like to stand in God’s here and now, clean from whatEVER has gone before? Wholly free to receive God’s present goodness? Free to step forward, utterly fresh and renewed?
Wow. This is much for me to ponder. I am thinking about a handful of people who regularly inhabit my thoughts, people who have, to materal sense, walked all over my life with muddy boots. Stomped. What if I, right now, within the embrace of my heart, wash each of their feet? . . . oh my, this is a holy moment. I can feel the stink of The Past just melting away.
Thank you all, so very much, for all the honest and heartfelt sharing going on here.
Washing feet is one of my favorite spiritual practices…both metaphorically and practically.
After facilitating more than a hundred foot washings with high school freshman, over the course of almost a decade, there were some things I think I couldn’t have learned any other way.
One of the things that stood out to me, was that this was the last “lesson” Jesus chooses to teach his disciples before being “taken from them” Imagine all the other things he might have chosen to say to them. Clarity about how to treat disease, how to avoid capture, reiteration of key points in his ministry…but no, he gets naked, wraps a towel around himself, then bares himself to them, gets on his knees and washes their feet, then wipes them with his towel.
On another note, it is a lesson that he has learned from a woman of “questionable” character. And yet it is the lesson he most wants to recall to his students and the one he insists that they must carry forward in the way they treat one another.
This is also his response to the question “Who shall be greatest?’ The one who goes lowest (have you ever tried to wash feet from a standing position?)
He also admonishes Peter for not wanting to have his feet washed. If you have ever participated in a foot washing (and this is something that I have seen…and experienced…over and over gain) you find that it is often harder to be the person whose feet are being washed, than the one who is washing feet. There is a vulnerability and nakedness that is one discovered in themselves when they allow someone to hold their dirty feet, wash them, and dry them.
Dirty feet represent the less “clean” path that we may have journeyed on. To wash someone’s feet is to wash away the dirt of that past journey. It is the kindest, most merciful act we can perform for someone. To separate them from the “dirt” of their past.
When I think of the first “foot washing” we come across in the Gospels (the woman at the Pharisee’s house) I can’t help but think of the great courage, humility, and love that she exemplifies for the Master, and which he shares with his students. She crawls into the room where the Pharisee is entertaining an honored guest. She could have been beaten and thrown out.. But she wants his forgiveness so badly she is willing to risk it all.
And have you ever thought about how hard must she have been weeping to express enough tears to wash his feet…both of them. I don’t know about you, but when I cry that hard, I am not pretty. It must have taken a total lack of self-consciousness to be willing to be seen in that state.
And then there is the posture she would have to have been in (in order to get low enough to be able to use her hair to wipe his feet) would have been most humbling. Even with very long hair your bottom tends to be in the air and you are almost upside down.
Then there is the ointment, the rare and precious sandalwood oil. If you have ever used pure sandalwood oil you know that it lingers with you all day. It is so fragrant, that it overpowers every other scent. It goes before you…and announces the sweetness and beauty of your presence.
And then there is the kiss…she kisses his feet…she bestows a blessing on his path.
I don’t know about you, but this is one powerful example of the kind of love that stops you in your tracks, makes you think about why you deserve such extraordinary kindness and humbles you to the point of surrendering all sense of ego.
For me, the foot washing is the reminder that to be “like Christ” to “do as I have done to you” demands being so humble, going so low that you are always looking UP at the other person…never down upon them from the posture of pride, position, or power…but of service.
I love this song by Michael Card: “The Basin and the Towel”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I47c29GvFY&feature=related
with Love, k.
I have been finding recently, in my efforts to wash some feet, that as I proceed there is an opportunity/necessity to have my own feet washed, and I can’t continue, in honesty, without submitting to it. It’s like, once I move into the spiritual space of washing somebody else’s feet, the motion of thought brings up things in me that want to get washed up too. It’s being in that place of flexibility, openness, and willingness. It brings things to the surface, and, without respect for persons, offers the opportunity to be washed clean.
I couldnt agree more with what Alex said just above. Persist. All we need is clarity on any situation for true healing to take place. True, pure clarity. This is because the qualities of God are always present and all that is present and this includes receptivity. All we need is to see those qualities and nothing else. Dont argue with the lie, see the truth.
As I have been praying about the answer to my own question above (about foot-washing just being HARD) the answer I have been getting is what Hayley just said above – persist. It’s an inescapable and glorious thing.
Upon reading some of these recent posts I just had to share one of my favorite quotes from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. ” It requires courage to utter truth; for the higher Truth lifts her voice, the louder will error scream, until its in‐articulate sound is forever silenced in oblivion.”
I always go back to this when I am working on an issue, and all of a sudden it seems like everything that can go wrong is going wrong. It is just error trying to cry out and disturb my thought, and wreak havoc. But if you persist and keep going back to God, error cannot, and will not have any say, and will forever be silenced.
I am washing away evil thoughts practically all day long by seeing the nurse aides who are taking care of me 24/7. They are not C/S, but they are all wonderful to me, more so than I could ever hope for. But amongst themselves they fight, not just argue, but fight, never physically, but with name calling at each other. It used to bother me, but now I pray. With every thing that I learned to do in C/S, by seeing them as God sees them, compassionate, too pure to see evil, etc. I am actually happy since I know that God is taking care of It.
Receptivity is what they need and that’s in one of prayers also. It’s a challenge, because I feel that the work or washing one’s feet, is destroying error. And when error feels one is destroying it, it lashes at it’s enemy, just as it did to Jesus and Mary Baker Eddy. But it will never win out.
I love what you’ve written here Tobias, and Alex’s story just above too. Radical Acts in progress. Triumph AND challenge. Thank you both!
Sweet one, I think you’d love this article. It’s from the CS Journal. “Love is all there is to you.”
http://christianscience.com/prayer-and-health/inspiration/publications/the-christian-science-journal/love-is-all-there-is-to-you2
To everyone: I LOVE this Radical Act (and all of them!). I’m reading all your stories and cheering to myself here. Keep on going, everyone – I’ll do the same!
recently I found myself in a conversation with a friend in which, to my surprise, he told me about all these very very dark thoughts he was having. I could tell that he thought, as he unveiled them to me, that I would be disgusted, or chastise him, or maybe coach him to not think those things. Instead, while he told them all to me, I was remembering all the times in my life when I have thought equally dark things – and through the grace of God, have come to see that those thoughts are not me, but rather, the self assertion of “the carnal mind”. So, when he told me all these things, I wasn’t tempted, even for a fraction of a second, to think that he was a bad guy. I knew he was the same friend I have always known.
I told him about some of the dark thoughts I had had. I unveiled them to him. My point was not to commiserate with him, but to show him that there is nothing shameful about it. There is nothing shameful about being tempted to think evil things. It is “the human condition”. And he, like all of us, needed to FEEL that he had nothing to be ashamed of before he could feel free to successfully rebel against them.
As it dawned on him that he was not alone, even in thinking these dark thoughts, he exclaimed to me over and over again how much better he felt than when we first began talking. It was joyful to see how happy he was to realize that he was not disgusting, like the carnal mind had been telling him he was.
Mortal mind is always trying to make us feel alone, like we are the only one with a particular problem. It also tells us that we are worthless and disgusting – so bad in fact, that we should never reveal our struggles to others. That, of course, is exactly wrong. We are not alone. We are part of the human family, and we can help each other see and feel that we don’t have to be ashamed.
I love sharing this so much.
Thank you for sharing Alex. Beautiful example!
Hi all,
I have to admit, while sometimes it has been really natural to live this radical act – washing peoples feet – mostly I have found it pretty hard. It’s one thing if I come upon someone who is right in front of me, deeply in need of some “foot washing”, but it’s has proven to be another thing entirely if it is anything other than that. If it is someone in my life who lives far away, or who I don’t see much I have found it really hard to stick with it. Does anyone else have that experience?
It feels like the demand is for a kind of amazing mental endurance and concentration. I know that I can only do as much as I am able to do, and that’s fine, but working on this radical act has shown me how much more there is to grow into.
Washing someones feet for me, means seeing their innate purity, their God given perfection, without all the material dirt, and crud. Think of a child, they are pure from sin, and have such childlike thoughts of good, and contentment that they know, without being able to materially know, that everything will work out and that they are ALWAYS taken care of.They have no dirt covering their pure thoughts. I love the quote in 1 John that says, “Perfect love casteth out fear”. Fear could be considered the dirt, and once washed clean, you get rid of the dirt, fear, and healing can take place.
heyley, your comment reminds me of an opportunity I had once to explain Christian Science to someone who knew nothing about it. I wasn’t quite sure where to begin, thinking it too big a subject to be properly discussed in one conversation, so I looked to God for inspiration. What came to me was to use a diamond as a metaphor. When it’s found “in the rough”, it has seemingly acquired all kinds of dirt and imperfections, but the diamond is still intact just as valuable as it ever was. the jeweler chips away at what doesn’t belong and the perfect diamond is revealed. I explained to my friend that in Christian Science we start by understanding that our perfect nature is always intact regardless of appearance, and that we chip away at the dirt we seemed to have acquired to understand that true nature. This seemed to satisfy the inquiry, and hopefully it helped my friend understand more about her true nature.
I think one of the things that’s so appealing about Jesus is his clear view of who we truly are. We all want to be seen as pure, intelligent, and loving, and Jesus saw mankind that way because he understood what man is – the way a jeweler understands a diamond.
In washing his disciple’s feet, touching the leprous man, facing off against the accusers of the adulterous woman, etc… Jesus was restoring the individual to their true place as a pure, intelligent, and loving child of God! Can you imagine the healing power this has on our fellow man?
Washing one another’s feet to me is all about humility. To get to this point, you have to drop away all kinds of self-righteosness. Self-righteousness can be such a tangled mess. But I have gotten our of this mess a number of times. Humility kind of clears the deck and is so very freeing!
These situations sometimes start like this: I have a question about the rightness of an activity – usually it is the rightness of someone else’s activity. I pray about it and come up with a conclusion that seems reasonable…to me. I start studying and find all kinds of quotes and rules that support my view.
I make my stand. There is a subtle (or sometimes blatant) sense that others’ behaviours need to change. I come to feel that by making this stand I am doing the only right thing. And that, if I don’t make this stand, the world would be compromised.
So what is wrong with this picture? There is no God in this picture – except as a back up to justify my pre-conceived right way to do things! There is no humility, no listening, no dropping all sense of self, and no willingness to change.
But these ideas have come to my rescue when I have struggled with self – righteousness: “…humility… is the genius of Christian Science (Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy). Cast the beam out of one’s own eye. (See Luke 6.) Let go (of ego) and let God.
I once worked in a traveling performing group. Our schedule was tight with a show in a different city almost every night. The five of us were together 24/7. When little tensions would flare up, we dealt with them fleetingly, but enough so that we could get back to work. Finally at one point, the tension and pressure of the performance schedule fueled with self-righteousness and a growing frustration led to one very alert member to call for a time out.
What happened next was lovely. After one of our shows, we all met in the back of our traveling RV. We all agreed that we needed to talk.
We first established that we loved each other and that we appreciated each other. This was a surprising and delightful thing to do! This was our “wsahing one another’s feet” moment. It helped to disarm any self-righteousness any of us may have felt. We kept it up until we felt that we firmly had a foundation of love, trust and respect. It was in this atmosphere of a unified purpose that we could go forward. We all felt washed clean!
It was only then that we brought up some things that were a concern to us. Then and only then could we go into removing what were becoming increasingly heavy burdens to our work. Being sure to not accuse anyone of wrongdoing, we were able to impersonalize the errant actions and re-establish our trust of one another. Then we each stated individually how certain actions made us feel.
Gone was the sense that if a person felt a concern about something, then they obviously didn’t know enough about God! (Doesn’t that even sound silly?) Gone was the sense that one person had to carry the whole group. (Whew!) And what was revealed was a sweet kindness that we had always had toward one another, but had been temporarily buried under the pressure of the schedule, misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
The tour went on very successfully. But even more so, I walked away with a major lesson on how to make self-righteousness be still and how to humbling acknowledge all the good in my fellow man.
Kim, I love your story. That place of safety that Love prepares is the best.
I did a lot of performing while in high school, and I loved it. There were bumps in the road when friends were competing for parts, etc, but that all vanished in sincere care for each other and a real love of the shows. However, that was not my experience freshman year in college.
The competition there was, at times, nearly violent. I was physically threatened, had people lie to try to get me fired from my job, and my work was sabotaged on a number of occasions. It became nightmarish. Through it all, though, I was praying to know what to do. All that ever came from my prayer was to silently love, no matter what.
I have to say that I had been hoping for brilliant comebacks or things I could do to make the behavior stop. But God never gave me those. Quite, humble, love. That’s all God would give me. So that’s what I worked on with all my heart. It was not easy.
The last show we did that year was a musical. I had a small speaking part, was a member of the ensemble, and had a solo dance part. I was having a blast. Being in so many different scenes, though not being the center of attention most of the time, gave me a chance to just hang out with members of the cast. I got to know them better, and they got to know me better. I continued to pray the whole time to learn how to honestly love people who didn’t seem to even like me, and little by little things started to change.
By the end of the run, 2 grad students, who had been the driving force behind a lot of the trouble, came up to me back stage. They both sincerely apologized for their behavior and explained that they had misunderstood my motives, especially my kindness, thinking I was fake and likely very judgmental and arrogant. What they felt they had learned over the year was that I really was who I seemed to be. No matter what anyone did to me, I stayed the same. They said they’d never met anyone before that would continue to be kind, supportive, and helpful to people who mistreated them.
I was so happy. It meant the world to me that they said all they did, but what was the best was that I got to understand why God gave me only one thing to do – love. My desire to have things to say or do would have fed their poor concept of me and made things worse. I hadn’t understood before that their behavior didn’t come from a place of truly not liking me but from not understanding.
At the time, I had no thoughts about this being a foot-washing experience. But now I see how it was for both of us. I had to stay humble and not let self-justification in. I had to “wash their feet.” But their courage and humility in talking to me and apologizing was such a tender moment for me – they washed my feet. I had such huge respect for them at the end of that year. They taught me a lot about being sure I’m not judging others and about humble grace. They are both people that, to this day, I love very much.
The concept of feet-washing as a humble act of love is so powerful, and so demanding. I’m learning that it requires us to first purify our own concept of others before we can even begin to understand what it means to wash someone else’s feet. Christ Jesus already knew that he was going to be betrayed by one of his disciples and tortured and killed. He already knew that another disciple who professed deep love for him and promised to go to the death with him, would in fact deny him three times out of fear for his own life. He also knew that all of his disciples (except John and Mary) would abandon him in his greatest time of need. And yet he washed their feet–the act of a servant even though he was there master. I know I have a long way to go before I’ll be able to express that kind of humility and unconditional, healing love. But I have had some moments in my life where I have begun to catch a glimpse of how powerful that humility and love can be.
When I was an attorney, I took a lowly job at one point as Head Law Librarian with a large law firm, so that I could have more time with my daughter. I was bottom man on the totem pole, so to speak, after having had my own very successful private law practice. There was a senior partner there who had a reputation for being very mean. She seemed to take a serious dislike to me and began ridiculing and criticizing me in front of others. Some of the attorneys said I should complain to the senior partners or bring a law suit against her for harassment, but I already knew that lawsuits don’t solve anything–they simply exacerbate the problem–make it worse! So instead I prayed.
I first realized that my success couldn’t be controlled by anyone or anything, because God is the source of my talents, my opportunities, my respect. But I knew I needed to go further. I discerned that this dear woman needed her feet washed. She needed to feel that unconditional love of Christ. She was not considered to be very attractive and dressed in a very manly way with masculine manerisms which made her appear even tougher. I affirmed in my prayers that since divine Love is the power and creative intelligence of the universe, then Love is the only Mind communicating to each of us. This Mind communicate tenderness, patience, goodness, unselfishness, confidence, and beauty. That last word startled me when it came to my thought, since she was not considered very good looking. But I realized, “Well, of course! God, Soul, is manifested in beauty, balance, grace, and harmony throughout Its creation, so it is natural for this woman to express that beauty.
A short while later, I was working late and this woman passed by my desk and made some negative comment. I didn’t hear her words because I was praying at the time, but as I looked up at her, I saw her for the first time as beautiful. She reminded me of my cousin. Out of my mouth came words I had not prepared at all. I said to her, “You have the most beautiful complexion! You remind me of my cousin!” The woman appeared to be dumbstruck. She stood silent for a moment, and then she thanked me and began talking to me. We launched into a conversation as if we had been friends for a long time. After that, her whole nature changed. She began sitting and talking to everyone, including the secretaries; she developed a sense of humor and became my strongest supporter, getting proposals and budget requests passed, even though I had not been praying to change her or to get anything from her. At the Christmas party, they pulled my name out of a hat and then handed me a bottle of alcohol (I’ve never drunk alcohol in my life, so I didn’t know what kind it was). I stood for a moment praying about how to gracefully reject this gift, when this woman came waltzing up to me. She grabbed the bottle out of my hands and said in a very sing-songy way, “You can’t have this; you’re a Christian Scientist! I get it! ” And she ran off with it. Everyone laughed and I was let off the hook. I have no idea how she knew I was a Christian Scientist, but later that evening two different senior partners came up to me to tell me that they had been raised in Christian Science but had left it many years ago. Now they were suffering from many physical problems that medicine could not cure and they wondered if it were too late to return to Christian Science. I told them, “It is impossible to leave the science of your being; you will always be God’s precious children. And it is never too late to experience that healing power of divine Love.
By first purifying my thought about this woman, it enabled me to wash her feet–to look past the suggestion of a negative human personality to what was really true about her. We all were blessed by this Christ love. This is a radical act I want so much to live on a more consistent basis. I’m so grateful for the many examples everyone is sharing here!
This is such a beautiful and harmonious demonstration of what an effect our prayers can have! It’s also a wonderful reminder to never assume someone is past redemption-we can’t possibly know that, and why would we want to assume something so negative? When we start with ourselves, we have no idea how far that will spread!
Thank you for sharing this story!
Alex and all…
I’ve loved reading your comments on this Radical Act. I like thinking about the idea that washing his disciple’s feet was not something Jesus did to show a step towards goodness or a necessary ritual; instead it was the outcome of HIS goodness. The way I see it, he washed their feet to give them a glimpse of what he thought of himself and what he thought of them. His love was such that it was expressed in this action, so the washing of feet was itself the outcome, and his love the action.
It’s neat to see how throughout history, this type of goodness and unselfishness has been the outcome of truly pure motives. It gives us a gauge for our own thought. Are we thinking about ourselves and our fellow man correctly? Well… what are we being compelled to do? In seeing what Jesus was compelled to do, I am in awe at his inherent goodness and humility.
I heard a Christian Science practitioner joke once about how in the healing practice they don’t ascend into higher positions, but descend into greater depths of service. What a beautiful thought! And what a beautiful person who seeks this “descent”!
We may admire people who get ahead by putting themselves first because we think we’re supposed to, but when we find someone who puts themselves last, we admire them because we KNOW their greatness.
Emmylc, I relate to the faith that you have that it is simply right to do good.
When I was first out of college I had a job working with teenagers who had recently gotten out of jail. Over the years that I did it I thought a lot about how to know if what I was doing was making a difference to them. They never said that it was, or showed it in any way. It was really difficult to do all that hard work, having no way of knowing if it was making any difference.
Finally I realized that if there really was no human way of being sure that my work was being appreciated, there was no other choice than to simply accept that love, patience, mercy, and all the virtues that were needed in that situation, are never useless. I began to think of myself as planting seeds of love. I accepted the thought that I may never see these seeds grow into trees because the kids were out of our program within one year, but I fully accepted the strong fact that love, the reflection of Love, is never useless, and always has a healing effect.
From that point on I was much more able to confidently pour myself into the work, and therefore plant more seeds.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Alex, check out this message to all Radical Act-ors from Jeani Bockelman, who’s featured in the “Our Father’s Porch” video linked above:
I hope the video will be helpful to the transforming work of “Radical Acts.” One thing I have learned is that Love is never a business deal, so I will pray for your youth that they never grow discouraged when the love they extend is dismissed, derided or misunderstood. If God is the author and finisher of our faith, it must be that He is the author and finisher of our love. Encourage your young people to always put outcome in God’s hands.
Blessings
Jeani
So beautiful. Thanks Jeani, for this guidance, and for your example. It is a great adventure to live by faith and not by sight!!!
All throughout high school, I participated in a program called National Leadership Council (NLC) which was designed to foster spiritual growth and encourage servant leadership. In the group with me were 13-14 other high school students my age from across the country and the group was headed up by two amazing women. One summer we went to Costa Rica on a service trip and during the trip our group leaders and the group practitioner blindfolded us and individually washed our feet. I had never in my life experienced such an incredible sense of Love and humility. Our leaders were giving immense amounts of time and energy to us and our group and then on top of that, they were washing our feet. I was humbled in a very unique way.
I was also inspired though-feeling the purity and joy in that moment created in me a desire to spread that feeling. Years later, when I think back on that experience I still get chills from the feeling I got that night. It may as well have been God himself washing my feet.
Even if you don’t have your feet washed or wash someone else’s feet, strive to encourage those feelings in yourself and others. Give pure, unselfish Love and you will get it back, forgive and you will be forgiven. You can only benefit from giving to those around you, and blessings will abound.
This is really cool. Thanks for sharing this story.
Being apart of the National Leadership Council (NLC) high school teens are asked to participate in activities in which Jesus taught. These activities are sometimes through interpretation, like walking on water, but others are actions that the group participates in literally. One of these actions was wash someones feet.
The group members of the class of 2010, were able to wash their parents feet. It was truly one of the most touching experiences their is. To love someone in a way that isn’t through giving material possessions or through words but through action was so powerful. The parents didn’t know who washed one anothers feet but to express love through touch and sincerity was something beyond materialism.
I love this story Melody.
How did the parents not know who was doing it? Were they blindfolded or something? Can you talk a little more about how the students and parents felt about it? How things were different after?
Wow! Ryan, that was a BEAUTIFUL video. Thanks so much for sharing. I am definitely going to share that further. Thank you!
I love what she says about foot-washing being the beginning of MOVEMENT. The beginning of the MOVING of the heart. And at the end she makes it so clear how she was revolutionized and made fearless by the process. Glory!
Here is a beautiful example of feet washing entitled, “Our Father’s porch”. What a humbling story. It is definitely worth a listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VquOE9aakpY
In a time long before video. look at what Mary Baker Eddy wrote;
In the eighties, anonymous letters mailed to me con-
tained threats to blow up the hall where I preached; yet I
3 never lost my faith in God, and neither informed the police
of these letters nor sought the protection of the laws of my
country. I leaned on God, and was safe.
6 Healing all manner of diseases without charge, keeping
a free institute, rooming and boarding indigent students
that I taught “without money and without price,” I strug-
9 gled on through many years; and while dependent on the
income from the sale of Science and Health, my publisher
paid me not one dollar of royalty on its first edition. Those
12 were days wherein the connection between justice and be-
ing approached the mythical.
My “foot washing” experience had to do with another part of the anatomy. I was substitute teaching for a class of severely disabled young adults. When it came time for lunch, one sweet young man in a wheelchair gently informed me that he had no control of his bowels,needed to be changed, and couldn’t do it himself. Having never done this before for another grown-up, I at first was pretty put-off by the very challenging sight and smell. All I could think about was what an imposition this was on me. And then the angel thought came to me: “It’s not about you! If I was in this situation, how I would hope and pray for help from someone who’d help me keep my dignity and not make me feel like I was some terrible imposition on them.” The whole situation changed instantly. The material details of what was going on became irrelevant What started out as a self-conscious, uncomfortable situation, became just two friends talking and laughing about sports, life, and whatever, as they did – and endured what had to be done.
Doris Peel put it so well in her “Letter to Jerusalem” poem about Jesus and his disciples, and how we’ve lost the feel of the Radically Acting Master and his followers, by trying to sanitize what they were really like:
“…When feet were washed, this was no mysticized act of grace, no lordly ceremony of the
sort any Christian of social standing may, without embarrassment to himself subscribe to.
Feet were dirty. They needed to be washed. Hands too, it seems safe to say, with all that
fingering of fresh caught fish and pulling down of fruit sticky from boughs…”
As far as the sensitization/launch of the radical act is concerned, I have discussed with many people about the life and the teachings of Jesus Christ. And they were very happy to hear that a project like this could exist.
I had a chance to share with one of my former colleague at the University and she told about how she had lived one of the practices of Jesus WHEN HE WAS WASHING HIS DISCIPLES’FEET. She started by telling me what she understands by this radical connectedness.
She said:” I like this practice because it teaches me how to be humble” and I continued in asking her what she understands by ” humility” she told me that humility is a gift from God that enables us to see ourselves as God see us: sisters and brothers, each as deeply valued and worthy of respect as every other. Again humility is a strong, sacred source of our own capacity for faith, hope and love. The true humility sees everyone as humble. And I was very excited to hear from her sayings as affirmed by Jesus “ verily, verily, I say unto you , he that believeth on me, the work that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my father”. She concluded “no one is beneath us or above us”.
I asked her again why she had this experience and she replied that it is a long story but she tried to summarize it for me in the following words: “one day I was appointed to work in a group of four people in water treatment plant, my coworkers were not happy to work with me as they used to deny some of my proposals and I was not happy, get annoyed and bored quickly. But after one week I went back to my bible, I again read this wash of disciples’ feet and I realized what I needed was to be humble, to cherish humility, watch and pray without unceasing and this has changed my work into a joyful, cooperative harmonious work after three weeks”
From this encouraging testimony of how someone can live one of the Jesus teachings and life, I decided to go ahead forward in this work.
The quote Alex mentioned about dissolving the adamant of error with the universal solvent of Love reminds me of an experience I had in college serving others—feet washing, in a sense. I was living in a dorm at the time and had decided to give back to the other students living there by serving on the board that took care of various aspects of upkeep there. One of my ongoing responsibilities was to empty the recycling bins throughout the building and take them down to the back door to get picked up. Although I had chosen to take on this task, I soon found that it was not just a chore, but it was a chore. It ended up feeling like such a burden that even thinking about it made me angry and frustrated. Why should I be taking out other people’s recycling? What had they done to deserve such a service? While I’m not proud to say this, I think that Mrs. Eddy’s three-part breakdown of error as “self-will, self-justification, and self-love,” very accurately describes the thoughts I was entertaining at the time.
Fortunately, this mentality didn’t last forever. One night, I was in the hallway and I crossed paths with another member of the dormitory board. As we talked real briefly, she mentioned off-hand that she had taken out all the recycling earlier that day and that I wouldn’t need to do it. Even though that wasn’t one of her duties, I could tell that she didn’t think that it was a big deal because one—she, too, was on the board in order to be of service, and two—she cared a lot about the people living in the dorm and liked to have the building in order. It was evident that no sense of burden had factored into her thought-process—just love. Her expression of love for those of us in the dorm reminded me that I, too, had a natural love for our dorm family. It was such a simple thing, yet it turned my thought completely around about this situation. I went from a paradigm centered on self to on centered on love, and from then on, my first thought when taking out the recycling was that this girl had once unselfishly helped me out. With that in mind, it became natural to reflect on what I had to be grateful for in my dorm family each time I went through the halls to do this task. Washing other people’s feet, so to speak, became an uplifting thing.
Alex and all-
I’m really connecting with your thoughts on washing feet: compassion and humility. I have definitely been where you are in terms of feeling like you have to shut down this other sense of how you’ve been living in order to act in Gods-likeness. I’ve learned many things from my own consistency of mentally washing feet-having that compassion and humility to love others, support others, and really it’s all about anointing others. Seeing all as the children, rather, the ideas of God (anointing them) must start with seeing ourself as an idea of God. We aren’t people trying to be God-like. Here’s what I learned: we don’t even express-we are expressions, but God does the expressing. We just shine. So it’s God that anoints all and we just get to see it and experience it-live it. Living it is exactly like the Scriptures say Christ is: simple. Maybe not easy, I understand, but simple. It’s not putting up a fight, it’s not even thinking we would need to put up a fight. It’s focusing on good and less of evil. It’s that ceaseless prayer of self-forgetfulness (SH 15) and just focusing mentally (and thus humanly in our actions and interactions) on the Truth that there is only one Mind. I’ve learned from too much suffering instead of science that when we just forget self and don’t let “self” put up a fight – when we stop worrying or focusing on the material picture and just focus on the fact that God, Good is all (and omni-action) then we will find and see God practically unfolding and expressing Himself as the only power that truly is.
Washing peoples’ feet is so intimate. I long to do this more, and when I do do it, or when it is done to me, it is the best feeling ever. I don’t think there is a way to be involved with foot-washing without having our heart moved and changed. I know that it is about letting Love be right instead of trying to be right myself.
Oh goodness, that’s it. Stop thinking I am right, and let Love be right.
My goal for this radical act is to realize when I am feeling frustrated with someone’s behavior and strive to “wash their feet” no matter the situation. I love that we have a divine right and ability to help wash away the fear from the world.