John and Antisemitism
In the history of interpretation and use of the Fourth Gospel, John has become a main biblical source to justify and validate antisemitism. According to the US Department of State, antisemitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” Fuel for this fire comes specifically from chapters 7-8 where the conflict between JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. More and other Jewish leaders is most acute. In fact, Jesus says to his opponents, “you are from your father the devil” (8:44). Jesus has similar moments of conflict with Jewish authorities in the other Gospels, specifically debates with the Pharisees. At the time of Jesus, there was not one uniform expression of Judaism but many forms of Judaism, much like Christianity today. Jesus finds himself in regular conflict with other Jewish authorities as to interpretation of the law and how to live out God’s instruction in life. As a result, it is important to note that Jesus is not speaking to all Jews because Jesus himself is Jewish. Rather, he is in a heated debate with other Jewish authorities as one who also has been recognized as having authority to interpret Scripture and speak theologically. Jesus has also presented himself in such a way that would go against the monotheism of Judaism. That Jesus presents himself as God would be considered blasphemous so no wonder these debates are so volatile. Interpretation of John’s Gospel must be located in its historical setting and not taken as vitriol against Jewish people.
Light and darkness
John’s use of light and darkness has led to numerous misuses, even to justify racism and “whiteness.” The application of darkness as bad and then being dark-skinned as even evil has validated numerous atrocities against people of color. Nothing could be further from the truth in John’s Gospel. The use of light and darkness is grounded in the creationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... More story, where God creates light. Nowhere does God say that night, or dark, is bad. Instead, it is cast in God’s creative activity that made the world be what it is today. For John, this dualism is one way to illustrate that there are some who believe in Jesus and some who don’t. This dualism is similar to writings found at Qumran, the Dead Sea ScrollsThe Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient scrolls discovered in the mid-20th century in caves near an archaeological site called Qumran More. The Qumran community had separated itself from a larger Jewish community and became a kind of Jewish sect, fastidious about ritual cleanliness and community order. The War Scroll describes a battle between the sons of light and the sons of darkness. This kind of language is typical of sects that need to distinguish themselves from those whom they feel have fallen astray.
John the Baptist in art
John the BaptistJohn the Baptizer was the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah, preaching a gospel of repentance and preparing the way of the Lord. More as a character in the Gospels is well known. In MatthewA tax collector who became one of Jesus' 12 disciples. More and Mark, he is portrayed as the forerunner of Jesus, the one who paves the way for Jesus’ ministry. In Mark, John the Baptist is described in remarkable detail: “Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locustsLocusts are a type of grasshopper (which, along with wild honey, comprised John the Baptist's diet). A swarm of locusts is the eighth plague before the Jews left Egypt in Exodus. The book of Joel takes place in the aftermath of a plague of locusts,... More and wild honey” which matches the description of ElijahA miracle working Israelite prophet who opposed worship of Baal. More in 2 Kings 1:8, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” LukeThe "beloved physician" and companion of Paul. More begins his Gospel with the miraculous pregnancy of ElizabethMother of John the Baptist. More, John’s mother, and the birth of John. One of the most famous portraits of John the Baptist is Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of the prophet. In this portrayal, John the Baptist is pointing upward. The depictions in art of John the Baptist pointing reflect John’s presentation of who John the Baptist was. In fact, in the Gospel of John, John the Baptist is never called the “Baptist” and he does not baptize Jesus. Rather, he witnesses the baptismJesus was baptized (literally, "dipped") in the Jordan River by John the Baptizer, at which time he was acclaimed from heaven as God's Son, the Beloved. Much later baptism became one of the sacraments of the Church, the action by which a person is incorporated... More and testifies to the fact that it confirms Jesus’ identity. John the Baptist’s primary role in John’s Gospel is to testify to Jesus’ presence in the world as the lamb of God (1:6-8).
John 3:16 and football games
John 3:16 is probably one of the most well-known verses of the Bible, if not the most famous. We often see it on posters at sports events when it is meant to be an ultimatum, that if you do not believe in Jesus your future is destined for hell and damnation. Taken out of context, it has become a statement about God’s judgment when the very next verse states the opposite, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him” (3:17). For John, judgment (or condemnation as it is also translated) does not mean that God judges the unbeliever, nor should we, but is a moment of decision as to how a person will respond to God’s offer of love in Jesus, “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” (3:19). John’s Gospel indeed puts the decision before us all but that does not automatically mean that God brings God’s judgment upon you if you decline the invitation. The reason for the language of judgment is to underscore the mutuality of what God desires in sending Jesus as the embodiment of God’s love. Relationship is defined by reciprocity.
The woman at the well and feminist interpretation
One of the most misinterpreted and misused passages in the Bible because of latent sexism and misogyny is the exchange between Jesus and the SamaritanSamaritans were a people who mostly lived between Galilee and Judea and were avoided or shunned by mainstream Judaism. Jesus' message, however, was so inclusive that he often spoke favorably of Samaritans as he did with the woman at the well (John 4) and in... More woman at the well. When Jesus asks her to call her husband it is not a move on Jesus’ part to trap her or to expose her sin. Rather, it is to move her to another level of recognition of Jesus’ identity. As a result of the conversation, the woman at the well sees Jesus to be a prophet because he knows the most intimate details of her life. The result is not Jesus forgiving her of her sins because there is nothing to forgive. A woman in first century Palestine would have no recourse for leaving or divorcing her husband. That was a man’s prerogative. That she had five husbands means they either died or divorced her and she was forced, as a widowA widow is a woman whose spouse has died, often plunging her into poverty and putting her in a vulnerable position in society. Jesus, in his concern for the poor, regards widows with compassion and concern. More or unmarried, to remarry for her own protection and survival. At that time, a man could divorce his wife for the most frivolous of reasons, but the main justification for divorce would be that the wife was unable to conceive and give the husband his due heir – she was barren. That she is living with a man not her husband is not how we understand “living together before marriage” or “shacking up” today. That was not an option. Instead, according to God’s law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) this would be a levirate marriageLevirate marriage is a marriage in which a childless widow marries her husband's brother in order to continue the line of her dead husband. Ruth is married to Boaz in a Levirate-like marriage (actually a kinsman marriage). This Mosaic law is at the heart of... More, where the brother of the man who died who was without children was obligated to marry the widow and the first child between them was accounted to the deceased to provide an heir. The plight of the woman at the well is not her sin and there is nothing to forgive. Rather, Jesus sees her societal shame, her misfortune, and offers her abundant life with him.
John 8:31-36 and the Reformation
The Gospel reading for Reformation Sunday is always John 8:31-36. For Reformation Sunday, these are powerful words, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Essential to the Reformation was an insistence on the power of God’s Word alone to manifest God’s graceGrace is the unmerited gift of God's love and acceptance. In Martin Luther's favorite expression from the Apostle Paul, we are saved by grace through faith, which means that God showers grace upon us even though we do not deserve it. More. The sacraments that the Reformation emphasized, and that Protestants observe today, are HolyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine More Communion and Baptism. In each sacrament, it is God’s Word with the element that matters – not the element itself or even the person administering the sacrament. These verses from John 8 resonate with this commitment. At the same time, the verb “to continue” is better translated as “to abide.” This word, “to abide,” is one of John’s favorite words, used over 40 times in the Gospel, and indicates the deep and intimate relationship that Jesus has with his followers. In this case, Jesus invites us to abide in him, in this relationship with him that is our source of abundant and eternal life. As Martin Luther said, “The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid.”
Jesus’ healings and disability
One of the most troubling passages in Scripture is Jesus’ healing of the man born blind. Much of this has to do with mistranslations that have added “he was born blind” making it sound like God caused the man’s blindness. This has had a lasting and harmful effect on individuals with disabilities who are made to explain or make sense of the reason for their disability. A more accurate translation would be “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but in order that the works of God might be revealed in him, we must do the works of him who sent me while it is day.” Disability studies has brought an important lens to the interpretation of the healing passages in the Gospels. If the healing stories are only about the healing itself, this suggests that those who cannot be healed of their disabilities could be considered mistakes, so then what does this say about God’s sovereignty? Do we ever picture God as one with a disability? What does it sound like for individuals with disabilities to hear, “You were made in the image of God”? Disability studies call attention to how society itself needs healing so as to see all bodies as made in the image of God, and that bodies that are not considered normal do not need to be fixed. In the case of John 9, disability studies help us move past interpretations that are spiritualized or simply symbolic. That is, the man born blind is not only restored to sight but has a place as a sheep in the fold of the good shepherd. The man born blind is not a mere metaphor for spiritual sight but becomes a discipleA disciple is a person who accepts and follows the pronouncements of a teacher. Jesus chose twelve disciples (also called "apostles" in some of the Gospels) to follow him and bear witness to his message Anyone who (like them) follows Jesus is engaged in Christian... More in his own right.
John 14:6 and Christian exclusion
Taken out of context, as many Bible verses are, John 14:6 has been a weapon for exclusionary claims of Christianity. Without Jesus, there is no way anyone can secure salvationSalvation can mean saved from something (deliverance) or for something (redemption). Paul preached that salvation comes through the death of Christ on the cross which redeemed sinners from death and for a grace-filled life. More and eternal life. There are several problems with this interpretation of this verse. First, Jesus is not making a blanket claim about salvation for all eternity. Rather, he is responding to an acute pastoral question and need. Jesus has already said that he is leaving the disciples. This verse is located in the opening section of what is known in John’s Gospel as the Farewell Discourse. Jesus knows what is to come – that he will be arrested, tried, crucified, and buried. But he also knows that he must return to the Father. All of this means his departure, but the disciples as of yet cannot understand what Jesus is saying. Jesus has just said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas’ question, therefore, is poignant – we don’t know the way. Jesus’ response, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” is an affirmation of what the disciples already know. The way is not a journey, but a relationship with Jesus forever that he will secure when he returns to the Father.
Jesus and prayer
One of the most famous portraits of Jesus praying is by the painter, Heinrich Hofmann, called “Christ in Gethsemane.” In this presentation, Jesus’ hands are clasped, he is on his knees with his forearms on a large rock, and his eyes are cast upward in prayer to his Father. This portrait of Jesus is ubiquitous, hanging in a pastor’s study, a grandmother’s living room, a church basement. Other artistic depictions of this moment in Jesus’ life are often titled “Agony in the Garden,” capturing Jesus’ prayer of agony in Matthew (26:36-46), Mark (14:32–42), and Luke (22:40–46) where he asks God to “let this cup pass.” In John, however, Jesus does not go off to pray by himself at Gethsemane (Matthew and Mark) or the Mount of Olives (Luke), leaving his disciples behind who then promptly fall asleep. Instead, Jesus prays at the end of their meal together, before they cross the Kidron Valley to the garden (18:1) so that the disciples overhear every word that Jesus says. When the soldiers come to arrest Jesus at the garden and PeterPeter (also known as Cephas, Simon Peter) was the disciple who denied Jesus during his trial but later became a leader in proclaiming Jesus. More cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave, Malchus, Jesus says the opposite of the prayer of agony, “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (18:11). There is also no Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of John (see Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) so that a model of prayer offered by Jesus in John is what is known as the “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17. In this prayer, Jesus prays for himself, for his disciples, and for those who will come to believe because of the witness of the disciples in the world.
The Lord’s Supper
The dominant understanding of the institution of the Lord’s Supper is garnered from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and PaulThe Apostle Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was the author of several New Testament letters and the founder of many Christian communities. More in 1 Corinthians. There are no such words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. The last supperLast Supper is another term for the Lord's Supper. The term refers specifically to the final meal Jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion. Christians believe that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper (also "communion" or "the Eucharist") was established by Jesus at the... More Jesus shares with his disciples in John is a last supper, but not a PassoverPassover commemorates the deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt as described in the book of Exodus. It is celebrated with worship and a meal on the fourteenth day of the month called Nisan, which is the first month of the Jewish year. The time... More meal. John shifts the chronology of Jesus’ death so that Jesus dies on the Day of Preparation for Passover at the same time the Passover lambs would have been slaughtered. The central act on that last night for John is the washing of the disciples’ feet. As John does not narrate the “Last Supper” there is quite a bit of debate as to how John views the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and what might be the take-a-way for communion practices and our understanding of holy communion in general. For John, however, the focus is on Jesus as a host of an abundant meal: the Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 6) and the breakfast meal on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21). These debates will not be solved here but it is worth it to note some key insights for how we understand the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. First, we might ask what difference it makes that John locates these meals not just before his death, but in the very middle of his public ministry and in the last resurrection appearance. How does the gift of Jesus’ flesh and blood as associated with his life, not his death, shape our views of the Lord’s Supper? Presented in John’s Gospel is not so much a theology around the Lord’s Supper of remembering, but of abiding.
Jesus and Judaism
A critical contribution of the Gospel of John is the portrayal of Jesus as a faithful male Jew. Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke where Jesus is only in Jerusalem once, at the end of his ministry and his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, in John, Jesus is back and forth between Galilee and Jerusalem numerous times. As a faithful male Jew, Jesus would have been required to travel to Jerusalem for the three pilgrimage feasts: the Festivals of Passover, Weeks, and Booths. In John, Jesus is in Jerusalem three times for Passover (2:13; 6:4; 12:1). Jesus is also in Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles which was a fall festival celebrating the harvest and remembering the tabernacling of God with God’s people in the wilderness (7:2). In 10:22 Jesus travels to Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication. And, of course, throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus interprets Scripture, the Hebrew Bible, to demonstrate his authority. He presents his ministry and identity through the perspective of God’s saving and steadfast loveThe steadfast love (hesed) of God is the assurance of God's loving kindness, faithfulness, and mercy. This assurance rings throughout the Old Testament, and is affirmed more than 120 times in the Psalms. In some hymns of praise the response of the people was likely... More already known in the Hebrew Scriptures, such as God’s gift of manna in John 6. Recognizing this aspect of John’s geography and reinterpretation of his tradition helps to underscore Jesus as Jewish, thereby counteracting contemporary leanings toward sidelining Jesus’ Jewishness and especially antisemitic interpretation.
Manna in the wilderness
A cursory search of Google for “manna” will certainly result in Old Testament references to the miraculous gift of manna in the wilderness. In the Hebrew Bible as the Israelites have been freed from slavery in Egypt, the gift of manna is described twice: once in Exodus 16:1–36 with the full narrative surrounding it, and once again in Numbers 11:1–9. A search will also offer a list of organizations that use “manna” in their names, referring to the provision of manna and banking on that reference for brand identity. The phrase, “like manna from heaven” is a phrase used often to describe a miraculous incident of unexpected abundance. As manna was the food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness, in common speech, manna is “divinely supplied spiritual nourishment, a usually sudden and unexpected source of gratification, pleasure, or gain.” For John, this miraculous food is now known in Jesus as the bread from heaven. Jesus explicitly interprets the feeding of the five thousand through the lens of this ancestral story. God is now providing God’s people with sustenance through the presence and promise of Jesus as the Word made flesh. At the same time, Jesus himself is the manna, the bread from heaven, an offering of his entire self for the sake of, care for, and sustenance of God’s people.
The garden
The site of Jesus’ appearance to Mary MagdaleneFollower of Jesus and among the first to reach Jesus' tomb on Easter. More is a garden which is why Mary, before recognizing who Jesus is, supposes him to be the gardener (20:15). But only in John is a garden mentioned and becomes the setting for Jesus’ arrest, burial, and resurrection. At Jesus’ arrest, the garden is a place of friendship and safety as we are told that Jesus often met there with his disciples (18:2). A garden near the crucifixion site is where Jesus was buried, “Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden, there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid” (19:41). The garden as Jesus’ first resurrection appearance underscores the new life, even new creation, possible through Jesus. The gospel song, “In the Garden” is a well-known hymn capturing this intimate moment between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. The garden, as a central image in John’s Gospel, also recalls the first verse of John, “In the beginning” and therefore, the Garden of Eden in chapter 2 of Genesis. A number of interpreters suggest that the garden in John is a return to or a reimagining of the relationship between God and AdamThe first human God created. More and EveThe name of the first woman, wife of Adam. More. As sin in the Fourth Gospel is separation from God, or not being in a relationship with God, Jesus’ presence in the world restores that relationship or makes possible that relationship that was severed in Genesis 2.
Pentecost
The Feast of PentecostPentecost was originally a Jewish harvest or pilgrimage festival that fell on the fiftieth day after Passover. It was during this festival that the Holy Spirit visited Jesus' followers in tongues of fire and caused them to speak in many languages, as reported in Acts... More is a major celebration in Christian churches. It occurs 50 days after Easter and marks the giving of the Holy Spirit. The descent of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 is set against the backdrop of the Jewish Festival of Weeks or Shavuot, a harvest festival – the Feast of Harvest in Exodus 23:16 and the Day of First Fruits in Numbers 28:26. In Exodus 34:22, it is called the “first fruits of the wheat harvest.” The designated Gospel reading for Pentecost Sunday is always from the Gospel of John in the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A: John 20:19-23; Year B: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15; Year C: John 14:8-17 [25-27]) which raises an interesting question about how we picture the Holy Spirit in our lives. Each of the Scripture readings for Pentecost Sunday offers a different perspective on the purpose and role of the Holy Spirit for the church and for persons of faith. It is worth having a sense of these differences so as to gain a better appreciation for how the Holy Spirit matters for following Jesus, especially when some denominations, such as Pentecostalism, have very specific understandings about how the Spirit works in the world. Unique to John is the description of the Holy Spirit as the paraclete, the one who is called to come alongside, which can be translated Advocate, Helper, Comforter, Aide, Assistant, Intercessor, Companion, Guide, and Teacher. Also unique to John is the language around the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 20:22. While most translations render the moment, “he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22) a better translation is “he breathed into them.” The verb, emphysaō, means “breathed into” and is the same verb used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the SeptuagintThe Septuagint is a pre-Christian (third to first century BCE) Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures. It is believed that the term Septuagint derives from the number of scholars-seventy (or seventy-two)-who reputedly did the work of translation. More, which the New Testament writers would have referenced because they would not have known Hebrew, in Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” The verb is also used in EzekielEzekiel was a priest and prophet who was raised in Jerusalem and exiled to Babylon in 597 BCE. More 37:9, “He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’” Jesus breathes God’s very breath (another way to translate the word “spirit”) into the disciples.
Kiss of death
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the act of betrayal of Jesus by Judas is the kiss that then confirms for the authorities that Jesus is the one to arrest. Judas’ kiss has become somewhat of common lore. If one is accused of being a Judas, the accusation is of being deceitful and betraying friends or country. “Don’t be a Judas” has then become another phrase that warns someone of potential betrayal. “A Judas kiss” refers to someone who shows fake affection and betrayal in love or affection. And even the term, “kiss of death” is connected to Judas’ action as an action, event, or association that could cause ruin or failure. In the Gospel of John, however, there is no kiss on the part of Judas at Jesus’ arrest because Judas has already betrayed Jesus by abandoning his relationship with Jesus. Instead, Jesus willingly hands himself over to the authorities by coming out of the garden and saying, “If you are looking for me let these men go.” The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep and no one takes it from him (John 10). For John, the betrayal of Judas does not happen at the garden at the arrest but has already occurred when Judas left the room and went into the night. Betrayal is possible for any disciple who chooses to abandon Jesus and his love.
Doubting Thomas
“Don’t be a doubting ThomasOne of the twelve disciples of Jesus who is remembered for doubting then believing in the resurrection. More” has been the moniker that has plagued this disciple of Jesus for centuries. Merriam-Webster even has an entry for “doubting Thomas” who is “an incredulous or habitually doubtful person.” A “doubting Thomas” has become known as the skeptic who needs some kind of proof in order to believe something. Curiously, the word “doubt” does not occur in the Greek text in John chapter 20. Instead, Jesus says to Thomas, “Do not be unbelieving but believing.” Thomas does not need proof, and the story is not about Thomas’ doubt or skepticism concerning Jesus’ resurrection. Rather, Thomas simply asks for what Mary Magdalene and his fellow disciples experienced – an encounter with the risen Jesus – so that he can say as they all did, “I have seen the Lord!” In fact, what is often not talked about is Thomas’ courage to ask questions and for what he needs. Back in chapter 14, as Jesus begins to speak of his departure, Thomas is the one who voices the concern of all the disciples. Jesus says, “And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (14:4-5). In chapter 20, Thomas voices his need – to be affirmed of his relationship with Jesus and Jesus provides Thomas with what he needs, offering even his wounded body for Thomas to touch. Jesus comes to Thomas with abundant grace and meets him in his need.
St. John PassionPassion is the theological term used to describe Jesus' suffering prior to and including his crucifixion. The Passion Narrative (the portions of the Gospels that tell of the Last Supper, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus) are often read in church during Holy Week. More
In music, one of the most famous choral works based on John’s Gospel is Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterpiece, St. John Passion, an oratorio following John’s Passion Narrative (chapters 18-19) for the occasion of the Good Friday Vespers service in 1724 at St. Nicholas church in Leipzig, Germany. Along with Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion composed three years later, St. John Passion is performed throughout the world during the observance of Lent or Easter. One can easily search for summaries, program notes, and versions of the piece on the internet and it is a powerful way to experience these last moments of Jesus’ life. The libretto is a complex weaving of John’s passion narrative, hymns, and other sources. In recent years, performance of St. John Passion has met with protest as both the libretto and the music emphasize the negative tone against “the Jews.” Without knowing the historical context of the Gospel and recent scholarly work on John and antisemitism, St. John Passion can easily feed anti-Judaism sentiment. It is important to realize how interpretations of John’s Gospel, whether by commentators or artists, have fueled antisemitism.
Foot washing ceremonies
The Gospel of John is the only Gospel to narrate a foot washing in the context of Jesus’ ministry. Foot washing was common during Jesus’ time as an act of hospitality toward guests who would have traveled the dusty roads of Palestine in sandals. The history of foot washing as a ritual in the church is vast and complicated. Over the centuries, foot washing has been practiced in different variations with a diversity of meanings. While observed in a number of denominations, its role as a ritual of the church has not been uniform and its function as a sacrament, or even church ordinance, has also not been consistent. Frequency is also not standardized. For example, in the Mennonite Church, “Congregations are encouraged to practice foot washing when it is a meaningful symbol of service and love for each other.” The question over time has been whether, how, and when the church should practice foot washing. The term “Maundy” complicates things in that it comes from Old French mandé and from Latin mandatum meaning “command.” If Jesus commanded this (John 13:12-15) should not foot washing be a regular practice of the church? And yet, unlike the rites of Baptism and Holy Communion, and the other five sacraments of the Catholic church, it has not reached a universal sacramental level. It is important to note that it is not simply an act of service. The gravity of its literary context points to Jesus’ death and that Jesus washes the feet of his denier and betrayer. Its meaning for many denominations, congregations, communities, and individuals is undeniable but remains contextualized within denominational expression.
