Comments on: Maundy Thursday

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:18:28 +0000

Thanks for noticing Muriel, I promise never to write messages late at night when I’m wired from too much red wine and tea!
Anyway, my only experience of the foot-washing was when I was an alter boy in the RCC and i recall it as being the only meaningful religious/spiritual expereinces of my childhood. I think for the same reasons given above for its significance: physical intimacy and humility. I’ve not yet repeated the experience as an adult. maybe next year…
Kelvin has got me thinking: how different the faith would be if the act of washing each other (feet or otherwise) was at the heart of worship throughout the year? Maybe Christ would transubstantiate in the water and towel? Cleansing our tired, frail bodies. Just imagine the intimacy between a group of people this would create? Shyness and modesty of the physical body wouldn’t last long. oh how pagan! ; , )

By: Stewart

Stewart — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:16:17 +0000

I always thought the washing of feet was following the example set by our Lord when he washed the feet of his disciples. One of whom wanted his head washed as well.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:12:50 +0000

Is it possible to feel humble on someone else’s behalf?

Somehow I think we are in danger of turning a symbol about love and intimacy into a power game. But maybe I’m misunderstanding.

Are some of you saying that when clergy wash feet you experience as neither intimacy nor service but a power game? And if so, why?

My own experience of it is limited — I expected to hate it, and then was deeply moved by the way the priest did it. It spoke very clearly of self-offering love.

By: Muriel Draper

Muriel Draper — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:44:13 +0000

Paul – it is worse than you think – how about “beleif”?

Don’t like carping criticism and I certainly do not want personally to make the clergy feel humble on my behalf. I think the Provost explained very well how HE felt about that particular remark.

I stood back from the washing of the feet as I wanted to observe the ritual from a distance, never having witnessed it before. Perhaps another year………or is my Aberdonian Church of Scotland background going to keep on getting in my way? I do hope not.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:59:45 +0000

My experience (as a lay person) of footwashing chimes with what Kelvin says. Yesterday it was especially moving to me to be part of the quite chaos of carting water, buckets, soap towels, etc. And then to pause in all that, sit and have my feet washed. It felt like both a greater acceptance of the body and a greater gentleness than usually happens in formal worship. I also wonder that if this gentle, bodily act of intimacy were a greater part of church practice if that would make the church different – more open to the body, to intimacy, gentler.

Probably not, after all, you could say the same thing about sharing a meal.

But it’s good to be reminded and to embrace the experience of grace continues to flow, regardless of any obstructions we put in the way.

This is a very garbled comment, but I have a liturgical hangover.

By: kelvin

kelvin — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:44:49 +0000

As I was hinting above, I don’t think that the footwashing is only about humility. After all, as a member of the clergy, you get plenty of experiences that really do make you feel humble that you don’t really need to act it out. Standing by a grave, hearing a couple talk about the vows they will make in front of you, looking out at a congregation and knowing so many joys and sorrows that make it up – these things really are humbling.

I think that when I first encountered footwashing as a lay person, it was all about the importance of, just for once in a while, putting a gentle, physical act at the heart of worship. Three of the gospels mention the bread and the wine and one only mentions the washing of feet. I always think on Maundy Thursday that had things been slightly different, we might have footwashing as the sacrament and only break bread once a year.

Of course, if foot washing had been the sacrament, the church would by now, no doubt, be divided into Onefooters, Leftfooters, Whole Body Washers and so on.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:38:12 +0000

just noticed I spelt authority incorrectly, not once, but twice. Oh dear…its worse than I thought.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:31:30 +0000

The name Maundy is a corruption of the Latin mandatum – meaning commandment, or so i’m told in my encyclopedia of christianity. This obviously makes little sense since in the Scriptural passage this refers to – John 13:4-18 – there is specific reference to an example, not a commandment.
The clergy washing the feet of members of the congregation is a throw-back from medieval Roman Catholicism I imagine and i guess one has to see the clergy as representing Jesus’ authoirty for the ritual to make sense…but then, episcopalianism (?) rests on the beleif that clergy represent Jesus’ authoirty, is that right? oh, dear, everything has stopped making sense at the moment.

By: ART

ART — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:12:02 +0000

Have never understood the foot-washing part of the Maundy Thursday Liturgy. I understand its appeal to the clergy. It lets them feel humble. How are the congregation supposed to feel? Grateful?