Sharing an intimate act of love
Chris McDonnell suggests that the Washing of Feet on Holy Thursday is in danger of being seen as “seen as a liturgical dumb show with little meaning other than a mimed re-enactment of the gospel of John.”
“…we shouldn’t regard the Washing of Feet as an action related only to the liturgy of Holy Thursday, but rather as an action that can and should be shared on other occasions of prayer………. The Washing of Feet is an action of gentle kindness, an act of service and an intimate act of love …..We shape communities not by being the audience at events but by our actions in a shared act of love. Messy, untidy, with water spills during washing and the drying of feet with a towel afterwards, but that’s life, that’s how it is. .”