“And they said
unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare [the passover meal]?
"And he said unto
them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man
meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where
he entereth in.
(I know he's not carrying a pitcher...but I really like the expression on this water-carrier's face.)
"And ye shall say
unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is
the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished; there make
ready.”
Luke 22: 9-12
What we know:
In this
household, a man or manservant was not above doing service in the
form of unconventional work or traditional women's work in order to
maintain the well-being of the people living there. There is an
indication here of a household that is more interested in working for
the benefit of the group as a whole than it is in maintaining
appearances or maintaining traditional hierarchical patterns that designated some tasks as "beneath one's dignity".
Jesus did not
name the goodman (head of the household) of the house when he gave
his disciples the information they needed to locate him.. It was a
man that the disciples did not know by name, though likely Jesus did.
The goodman was
a man who recognized Christ as “the Master” and was readily
willing to welcome other of his disciples, whom he did not know
personally, to use a room in his home for worship.
And it was in
this house, where a goodman readily welcomed others to worship, and
where household members were humbly willing to serve, regardless of
the opinions of others or traditional views of who is supposed to do what, that Jesus, washing his disciples' feet, again taught his most powerful lesson on servanthood and leadership.
He had taught it
earlier: “He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” Matthew 23:11
They had not yet
understood this fully. Peter's strong, initial objection when Jesus
started to wash his feet indicates that he was still too aware of
conventional ideas about leadership to fully accept the idea that
true leaders engaged in activities that were considered “beneath
them”.
And therefore,
Jesus' words:
“If I then,
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash
one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should
do as I have done to you.”
There is a
correlation, perhaps, between the master who washed his disciples
feet, and the man who worked in the house where He did so and who carried the woman's water jug to the well and back.
Both were undertaking humble service that was considered beneath them
by those who embraced what followers of traditional rules of
hierarchy expected of them.
And I find it
telling that this household, where a man was not too proud to serve
others by doing work that others would consider “beneath him”,
and where unknown believers were welcomed, was the place where the
first recorded ordinance of the Sacrament was performed. Those
qualities of humility, service and welcome that seem to have been
part of the culture of the household where the first breaking of
bread in remembrance of Him occurred are what I think Jesus hopes and
expects in the culture of those of us who are part of a any congregation that partakes of communion/sacrament in
remembrance of Him.
The goodman and his servant created and maintained that culture in their sphere. Do we?
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