During the final meal that Jesus shared with his closest 12 friends, he got up from the table, removed his coat, tied a towel around his waist, picked up a basin of water and began to wash their feet. It was not unusual for guests to have their feet washed. That was a common practice because the rugged terrain, dusty roads, and travel mainly on foot led to hot, tired, dirty feet. Having them washed before the meal refreshed guests. What was unusual was that Jesus, the host of the meal, not a servant in the household, performed this menial task. His disciples’ grumbled that they should wash his feet not the other way around. And Jesus’ response? Typically, gentle but direct:

You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. (John 13:13-15, NRSV)

“I have set you an example,” Jesus said, “do as I have done to you.”

The spiritual discipline of service can so easily be misunderstood as nothing but a list of things that we do It is so much more. Instead of being a flurry of compassionate activities, service is rooted in that wonderful story of Jesus and his disciples and his challenging words to them: “I have set you an example…do as I have done to you.”

Jesus’ example was not the specific act that he performed in the washing of their feet. The example that he gave to us, that is at the root of all Christian service, is humility. Richard Foster wrote, “The spiritual authority of Jesus is an authority not found in a position or a title, but in a towel.” The power and the meaning of John’s story is that Jesus humbled himself to serve others rather than expecting them to serve him.

That is still where the spiritual discipline of service takes root: in our willingness to humble ourselves to be servants of all – the powerful, the marginalized, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, Republicans, Democrats, liberals, conservatives – following the model of the one who took a towel and a basin and then went to a cross. In service our lives can be transformed by a loving God who opens our hearts and minds to people around us and who gives us the privilege of being servant of them all. Richard Foster offers poignant invitation to the discipline of service:

The risen Christ beckons us to the ministry of the towel. Such a ministry, flowing out of the inner recesses of the heart, is life and joy and peace. Perhaps you would like to begin by experimenting with a prayer that several of us use. Begin the day by praying, "Lord Jesus, as it would please you bring me someone today whom I can serve."