For Lent, one year, our worship committee planned  to focus on a different name or title given to Jesus in scripture. When we read the story of Nicodemus, I was immediately drawn to Jesus as Savior, sent by God not to judge the world, but to save it. For Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, my sermon highlighted Jesus as king. When it came to the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, I first thought of Jesus as servant.

That’s definitely part of our reading for today, which tells the story of Jesus serving his disciples by washing their feet. In the world of the New Testament, foot washing was a daily practice. In that warm climate with the dusty dirt roads and dusty dirt pathways, where people wore sandals - without socks - it was customary for people to wash their…