FULL DISCLOSURE OF
THE FATHER’S HEART
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, loves you.
Some
people have trouble calling God “Father.” Connecting “love” with the father
title doesn’t work for them. Painful experiences have taught them that the father-figures
they have known have been anything but loving. Certainly our earthly fathers
have been less than perfect.
Consider
the boys and girls who wanted to hang out with dad in his shop working on his
projects. Dads are always doing “cool” stuff and little boys want to join in;
little girls do too. But dad wants to get this project done; he’s got a
schedule; no time for teaching. So he goes to mom with the little one’s hand in
his and says, “He’s in the way.” That phrase sears into the child’s mind and
emerges repeatedly. They think, “If dad loved me he’d want to spend time with
me.”
In the
last four decades, feminist theologians have wanted to remove masculine
language from our church talk. Man-centered language must be replaced with
language that allows male and female together to appreciate God. They say that
predominantly male images of God in the Bible reflect an ancient patriarchal
society which subjugates women. A male god expressed in “father” language is a
male invention.
I
disagree. That God calls Himself “Father” reveals His relationship within the
Trinity and, in the purest sense of the term, reveals the Father’s heart for
humankind. That God is our Father indicates a personal and intimate
relationship marked by love.
On the
night before His death on the cross, Jesus taught the disciples about the
Father’s heart. And on this night, Jesus showed the Father’s heart. John
13:1-11 often forms the basis for what we must do – foot-washing; it really
speaks of what has been done for us. The Father loves us so completely that we
can do nothing less than let Him love us.
1. For God so loved the world…
a) The way back to
the Father – When I first began studying this section (John 13-16) I was
impressed with how much Jesus had to say about the Father. Upon further study,
I found that the Gospel of John contains more teaching about the Father than
any other book in the Bible (approx. 150 references to “Father”). Jesus’
relationship to His Father is extremely tight. In ch. 12 Jesus says, “For I did not speak of my own accord, but
the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it,”
(12:49).
Earlier
than that, Jesus told His disciples, “My
food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (4:34).
There’s that intimate connection. As Jesus saw it, everything He did and said
was in obedience to His Father’s plan. Jesus was fully aware of the plan. At
times Jesus would say “my time has not yet come.”
Now, on
the night before the cross, Jesus knew it was time. John records, “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him
to leave this world and go to the Father” (1a). Everything Jesus had said
and done built up to this moment: healings, exorcisms, teaching, living…all of
it. Jesus was almost finished the Father’s work and then He would join the
Father. But the way back to the Father was the way of the cross. Only by going
to the cross would Jesus fulfill the Father’s purpose for sending Him into the
world.
b) Loved to the
full extent – Knowing that the cross loomed ever closer, Jesus gave the
disciples one last glimpse of what was to come. He wanted to give them a taste
of the Father’s love. John expressed this in a peculiar sentence, “Having loved his own who were in the world,
he loved them to the end” (1b).
To the
end of what? We might think in terms of time: Jesus loved them right up to His
death. But the language is more about the type of love than about time. Jesus
loved them “absolutely” or “to the uttermost” or “to the full limit.”
And whom
does Jesus love? His own; the disciples; those who choose to follow Him. Jesus
wanted to show them the incomparable love that would explain the foot-washing
which in turn reflected the cross. The love that Jesus shows them is none other
than the Father’s love for humankind.
We
cannot forget that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One, and that they are
united. What Jesus says and does, the Father and the Spirit agree. We cannot
forget Jesus words, “For God so loved the
world…” (3:16). And this same John who recorded these words reflected on
them later in 1 John 4:9-10 (show slide).
In the
end, there is no explanation of the cross other than the love of the Father. We
cannot say “Jesus loves me” and think how terrible the Father was for sending
Jesus to die. Give up the divine child abuse theory and acknowledge that the
Father-God loves you so much He sent His Son for this purpose.
c) The Father’s
plan will not be hindered – God’s purpose would not be thwarted. Judas was
there that night. Judas had in mind to betray Jesus; he had made a deal with
the authorities to have Jesus arrested. Jesus will wash his feet too – Jesus
will show the love of the Father to Judas.
Whatever
was on his mind that night, for whatever reason Judas resisted the love of
Jesus, his ambition, his political leanings, his disenchantment with Jesus’
teaching, it would not change anything. The death of Christ will take place at
the hour, the time, and the place, which the Father had ordained it and for
which Jesus waited.
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all
things under his power” (3a). Thus, the actors in the drama of His death,
Judas, Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate and the mob all acted within the purposes of
God. Their failure, rebellion and sin provided the occasion for the revealing
of love’s triumph.
“For God
so loved the world…” There is too much in that phrase to comprehend; the
meaning of it is astounding and beyond our minds to perceive.
2. He gave His Only Son
a) A raw
expression of love – You know, when the disciples entered the upper room
for this “last” meal, they were arguing again. First, they were all intent on
sitting in the places of honor – at the Lord’s left or right. They came in
pushing and shoving, ignoring the basin of water that a servant would have used
to wash the feet of guests. They had been arguing about who was the greatest
disciple among them (Lk 22:24). This ranking would have been visible in how
close they sat to Jesus. No one bothered to wash anyone’s feet.
The task
of washing the guests’ feet before the meal was not the host’s job, since it
was a very demeaning task. None of the disciples were going to do it because
they were peers and no one wanted to admit they were less than the other. Even
a high-ranking servant would not do it. Washing feet was the job of a slave.
In the middle
of the meal, Jesus gets up and takes off His robe. I imagine He is quite
exposed to the environment. All He has is a towel. The bickering disciples grow
awkwardly quiet. What is the Master doing? Jesus makes His way around the
U-shaped group and washes the dust and camel dung off their feet.
Do you
see what happened here? God the Father took off His divine vestments; He shed
His glory, and got raw. This is Phil. 2:6-8 dramatized. The Father showed us
His love in the most vulnerable manner. “In the washing of their feet the
disciples, though they did not understand it at the time, saw a rare unfolding
of the authority and glory of the incarnate Word, and a rare declaration of the
character of the Father Himself.”[i]
This is
the Father’s love. Jesus enacted it as a slave, washing feet. This is what
fathers are supposed to be like. I was reminded of Pastor Pete’s experience
with the youth mission trip to Mexico several years ago. Remember? Everyone got
sick and was barfing on the plane. Pete and other leaders fathered the group by
picking up the bags and cleaning up the youth.
That’s
gross stuff. But is that any different than the condition humanity was in when
Christ died? God got down on His knees and cleaned us up.
b) A seemingly
inappropriate expression – As Jesus makes His way to Peter, the disciple
seems appalled at first. This is too graphic for Peter. We could paraphrase
Peter’s words this way: “You don’t think you’re going to wash my feet, do you, Lord?”
No one
wanted this job. Each disciple thought it beneath him to wash the feet of his
peers. But here, the Master stoops to wash their feet. This is even more
inappropriate. Peter cannot accept this turnabout and resisted having his feet
washed.
It may
seem like humility on Peter’s part, but there is pride in this resistance.
Peter presumes to know better than Jesus what is appropriate and he corrects
Jesus, as though He was wrong.
Jesus
explains that it may be understandable for Peter not to comprehend this action
now, but he will get it eventually. After the resurrection, Peter and the
others will see what this all means. But they have no perception of the
crucifixion let alone the resurrection. They just don’t get it.
Peter
resists more strongly the second time, “No,
you shall never wash my feet” (8a). Peter, in false humility, rejects our
Lord’s actions because he now feels undeserving. But that is the point. What
Jesus’ so-called inappropriate action demonstrates for His disciples is the
love and grace of the Father.
Close
your eyes. Can you imagine Jesus washing your feet? I was directed to do this
one time. It felt wrong. Jesus washing my feet? I’m not worthy of such an
honor. Exactly!
Would
Peter resist having Jesus wash his feet on the premise that he is unworthy?
Would we? Then Peter, and we also, must reject having sins washed away by the
shed blood of Jesus on the cross, for Peter, and we also, are unworthy of this
too. To reject grace in principle is to reject all grace.
And so
Jesus tells Peter, “Unless I wash you,
you have no part with me” (8b). For Peter, this was like the ice-bucket
challenge. If you weren’t awake before, you are now. The thought of having no
part with Jesus was too much.
c) Clean! – When
Peter grasped the connection, be it ever so dimly, of foot-washing with
following Jesus, he dives in. Peter wants every part of his body washed. He’s
ready to strip down for a sponge bath if it means having more of Jesus in his
life.
Jesus
tones down Peter’s enthusiastic response. If Peter desired too little of Jesus
before, neither should he ask for more than is needed. He is clean; Peter does
not need a bath.
There is
a spiritual element to this exchange. The salvation work that Jesus completed
on the cross is a finished work. It does not need to happen again. Your sins
are forgiven. What then, is the purpose of foot-washing? Foot-washing is a
parable pointing to the sacrifice of the cross, the humility of One who is God
to die for us. Receiving foot-washing from another is a token of our acceptance
of this act. To wash another’s feet is to imitate the servant-heart and love of
God. It indicates that we are clean by virtue of Christ’s death; it indicates
that we are a clean people who understand the Father’s lavish love.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John
3:16).
This is
not a sermon on why we should do footwashing twice a year as a church. This is
not about something we should do. This sermon is about what has been done to us. This sermon is about the Father
desiring to show us the full extent of His love to us through His
representative and Son, Jesus Christ.
The
Father reveals to us the intimate connection He has with His Son so that they
act as one. When we speak of the Trinity, we are using shorthand for the
Christian story of God the Father, who sent His Son Jesus Christ and gave us
His Holy Spirit. To quote Lutheran theologian Robert Jenson, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit is the proper name of God. This name separates His person and
character from other gods or deities. God reveals Himself as Father to us
because in this title we understand the relationship God wants to have with us.
A short
story written by Ernest Hemmingway reveals the grace that everyone hopes for.
It is the story of a Spanish father who decided to reconcile with his son who
had run away to Madrid. The father, in a moment of remorse, takes out this ad
in El Libro, a newspaper. "Paco, meet me at Hotel Montana, Noon, Tuesday…
All is forgiven… Papa." When the father arrived at the square in hopes of
meeting his son, he found eight hundred Pacoes waiting to be reunited with
their father. Was Paco such a popular name? Or is a father's forgiveness the
salve for every soul?
God, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, loves you!
AMEN
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