A Liturgy For Footwashing

While some denominations and congregations include footwashing in their regular Communion or Lord's Supper celebrations, other practitioners include the rite only in their Maundy Thursday services. The following liturgy could be adapted for Passion Week or other occasions. In most footwashings, the sign-act itself embodies its own meaning, so the liturgical rhetoric may be minimal, assuming that leaders have provided some prior teaching about footwashing's history, development, and theological and ethical emphases. The liturgy given here also assumes footwashing's association with a larger celebration of the Lord's Table (for example, see "?A Common Text for the Great Thanksgiving?" in chapter 9), but details on the rest of the Communion service are not included here. The footwashing liturgy begins after the gathering, greeting, opening prayers, reading of Scripture, and celebration of the Lord's Table, all of which ought to be sensitive to footwashing themes. The introductory remarks, litany, and prayer are only examples of how one might provide interpretation.

The Service Introductory Comments Leader: The washing of one another's feet, following the example of Jesus when he washed the feet of his disciples, is a symbol of our need for renewed cleansing and forgiveness, made possible by the love of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. In it we see the majesty of God, who always stoops to lift our burdens and cleanse our sins, empowering us to live freely. Through washing another's feet, we also commit ourselves to lives of service, in the spirit of Christ, who took on human form, humbling himself in cross-bearing service to others. By kneeling and washing, we express the love which serves human needs, both within our fellowship and beyond these walls. Hear, then, the Word of the Lord. Gospel Lesson John 13:1–17 Silent Meditation Footwashing Litany Leader: O Eternal Wisdom, O Vulnerable God, we praise you and give you thanks, because you laid aside your power as a garment and took upon yourself the form of a slave. People: You became obedient unto death, even death on a cross, receiving authority and comfort from the hands of a woman; for God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; and God chose what is low and despised in the world to bring to nothing things that are. All: Therefore, with the woman who gave you birth, the women who befriended you and fed you, the woman who anointed you for death, the women who met you, risen from the dead, we praise you. Leader: Blessed is our brother Jesus, who on this night, before Passover, rose from the Supper, laid aside his garments, took a towel and poured water, and washed his disciples' feet, saying to them: "?If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.?" People: Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head. All: Come now, tender Spirit of God, wash us and make us one body in Christ; that, as we are bound together in this gesture of love, we may no longer be in bondage to the principalities and powers that enslave creation, but may know your liberating peace such as the world cannot give. Amen. (From Hymnal: A Worship Book) The Footwashing Commentary: The footwashing may begin with a brief announcement of procedure—where basins and towels are located, how persons should pair up, or a request that participants return to their seats following the washing. These announcements should be limited—teaching about specifics related to the rite should take place in an earlier setting or should be listed somewhere in the bulletin. Often the rite takes place in relative silence, with participants speaking only in hushed tones—and, most likely for new practitioners, nervous titters. Footwear may be removed at the benches, or more likely, near the basins. Footwashing may be done either in pairs or in rows. In row washing, an appointed person may kneel before each basin and wait for a person to be seated in the chair in front of the basin. The appointed one places that person's feet in the basin one at a time, lifts and dries each foot, and rises. The person whose feet have been washed kneels and washes the feet of the next person waiting in line. Persons who have had their feet washed and have washed the feet of another may be seated and replace their footwear. The feet of the one who began the footwashing will be washed last. In pair-washing, persons select someone with whom they want to wash feet by tapping them on the shoulder, asking them quietly, or nodding to the other. This may be a friend, a person with whom they've recently reconciled, a visitor, or anyone else in the fellowship. Usually persons wash only same-sex partners, although this is not always the case. Depending on the level of modesty desired, basins may be placed in the open auditorium or in more private educational classrooms. Participants take turns at the basins. The washer stoops in front of the other person, takes her foot in her hand, and rinses it with water, drying it with a towel. After both feet are washed, the two switch positions, and the washer becomes the washed. After both have washed, they stand and hug, exchange a handshake or the "?holy kiss?" (Rom. 16:16), and speak affirmingly to the other—e.g., "?God bless you.?" Participants then replace their footwear and return to their seats. Hymns of Commitment Commentary: After people begin reassembling in the sanctuary or auditorium, hymn-singing may lead the group back into corporate worship and allow others to return to their seats unobtrusively. Unison Closing Prayer Blessed are you, O God You set aside this bread as a sign of your Son's broken body, this cup as a sign of his shed blood, this basin as a sign of his servanthood. Through them you have made us partakers of Christ and of one another. As we go forth, give us grace to count others better than ourselves, to love our enemies, to seek peace. Send the Spirit of truth to keep alive in us what Jesus taught and did, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen. Benediction