Of all the rituals of Holy Week\/Triduum, it is most often Holy Thursday\u2019s footwashing that, somehow, haunts me throughout the whole week. Sometimes it\u2019s a memory of being with a Primitive Baptist congregation in Alabama one Sunday as they celebrated one of the four Lord\u2019s Suppers they observed during the course of the year\u2014with footwashing at all four, because it\u2019s what Jesus commanded. Other times I recall that Holy Thursday when, for the first (and only) time in my ministerial musical life, I was able to remove my organ shoes during the liturgy, have my feet washed, and wash another\u2019s in return.<\/p>\n
This year, I will be haunted by the image captured in a sentence by Frederick Buechner:<\/p>\n
“I saw where thou didst wash the dusty feet of those who, when the soldiers came to haul thee off to death, took to their well-washed heels.”<\/p>\n
I thought that I\u2019d made connections between footwashing and very nearly every other substantial part of Holy Week. But never had I made a connection between footwashing and betrayal. It wasn\u2019t possible for Peter, or the other disciples\u2014and it\u2019s not possible for me\u2014to turn our backs on Jesus without turning our well-washed heels as well.<\/p>\n
The beautiful truth of the Triduum, however, is that it doesn\u2019t end at betrayal, with back-and-heel-turning, but rather with the joy and glory of being fully washed anew in water and the Spirit.<\/p>\n
A blessed Triduum and joyous Eastertide to all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“I saw where thou didst wash the dusty feet of those who, when the soldiers came to haul thee off to death, took to their well-washed heels.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3118,91],"tags":[176,3096],"class_list":["post-36263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ars-celebrandi-new-ws","category-liturgical-year","tag-holy-week","tag-spy-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\n