From here the Evangelist passes to the story of the passion. Here also, insofar as is possible, he is careful in saying nothing that has already been related by the other [Evangelists], unless the course of the narrative obliges him [to do so], and it is impossible to construct an accurate order of events without reporting part of the facts already related by his colleagues. When he reports those things done and said by our Lord to his disciples, which we do not find to be mentioned by the others in their books, he wants to show that our Savior did not undergo his passion outside his knowledge and expectation but by his free will. Only when he wanted to did he taste death. . . . In the same way here, by writing, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father, he means that he knew exactly the time of his passion and everything that would happen to him.

Pascha (Passover) is not, as some think, a Greek noun, but it is Hebrew, although there is a remarkable amount of agreement between the two languages over this noun. For inasmuch as the Greek word paschein means to suffer, Pascha has been supposed to mean suffering, as if the noun derived its name from Christ’s passion. But in its own language, that is, in Hebrew, Pascha means Passover,^[1] because the Pascha was then celebrated for the first time by God’s people when, in their flight from Egypt, they passed over the Red Sea.^[2] And now, that prophetic emblem is fulfilled in truth when Christ is led as a sheep to the slaughter,^[3] that by his blood sprinkled on our doorposts, that is, by the sign of his cross marked on our foreheads, we may be delivered from the perdition awaiting this world, just as Israel was delivered from the bondage and destruction of the Egyptians. We perform a most salutary journey when we pass over from the devil to Christ and from this unstable world to his well-established kingdom. . . . This name, then, of pascha, which, as I have said, is in Latin called transitus (pass over), is interpreted, as it were, for us by the blessed Evangelist when he says, Before the feast of pascha, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should pass out of this world to the Father. Here you see we have both pascha and passover.

The very feast that by us is named Pascha among the Hebrews is called Phase,^[1] that is, Passover, as the Evangelist attests, saying, Before the feast of Pascha, Jesus, knowing that his hour was come when he should pass^[2] out of this world unto the Father. But what kind of nature was it that he passed out of unless it was ours, since the Father was in the Son and the Son in the Father inseparably? But because the Word and the Flesh is one person, the assumed is not separated from the assuming nature, and the honor of being promoted is spoken of as accruing to him that promotes. This is what the apostle says in a passage we have already quoted, Wherefore also God exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name.^[3] Here, the exaltation of his assumed manhood is no doubt spoken of so that he (in whose sufferings the Godhead remains indivisible) is similarly coeternal in the glory of the Godhead. And to share in this unspeakable gift, the Lord himself was preparing a blessed passing over for his faithful ones, when on the very threshold of his passion he interceded not only for his apostles and disciples but also for the whole church, saying, But not for these only I pray, but for those also who shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, as you also, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us.^[4]

Surely this statement does not refer to the idea of a change of place with respect to the Father and the Son toward the one who loves Jesus’ word, nor can it be understood in a spatial sense. Rather, the Word of God, by condescending to us and by being humbled, as it were, in regard to his own worth, when he is present with human beings, is said to change places from this world to the Father. The result is that we also see him in his perfection, returning from the emptying with which he emptied himself^[1] alongside us, to his own fullness.^[2]

This was not his first inkling that his hour had come. He had known long before that he was going to depart. The Evangelist is most eloquent in calling his death a departure. . . . Being so near to leaving his disciples, he shows greater love for them. Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them to the end, means that he left nothing undone that one who greatly loved should do. Why then didn’t he do this from the beginning? He reserved this for the end so that their love might be increased by it and to prepare them by this consolation for the terrible things that were coming. John calls them his own in the sense of personal attachment. . . . The word was used in another sense in the beginning of the Gospel, His own received him not.^[1]

The Evangelist says that the Savior, before enduring his suffering for our salvation, was aware that the time of his translation to heaven was now close, even at the doors,^[1] and he gave a proof of the absolute perfection of his love for his own that were in this world. . . . All things made by Christ our Savior, all intellectual and reasonable creatures, the powers above, and thrones, and principalities and all things related to these, inasmuch as they have all been made [by him], belong to Christ our Savior as his own possessions. Furthermore, all the rational beings on earth particularly belong to him, inasmuch as he is Lord of all, even though some refuse to adore him as Creator. Therefore he loved his own that were in the world. It is not with angels that he is concerned^[2] according to the voice of Paul . . . but rather for the sake of us who are in the world, he the Lord of all has emptied himself and assumed the form of a servant, called to this by his love for us.

He loved them so much that by that very love he would end his bodily life for a time and soon pass from death to life, from this world to the Father. Greater love has no one than this, that he should lay down his life for his friends.^[1] And so, each passing over—the one under the Law and the other under the gospel—was consecrated with blood, the former with the paschal lamb, the latter with Christ, our Passover, who was sacrificed for us.^[2] The latter had his blood poured out on the cross, the former had its blood sprinkled in the manner of a cross in the middle of the lintel and the middle of the door posts.

For what do these words to the end mean but to Christ? For Christ is the end of the law, says the apostle, for righteousness to everyone that believes.^[1] He is the end that consummates, not that consumes. He is the end that we are aiming for, not our end where we perish. It is exactly in this way that we are to understand the passage, Christ our Passover is sacrificed.^[2] He is our end. We pass into him. For I see that these Gospel words may also be taken in a kind of human sense, that Christ loved his own even unto death, so that this may be the meaning of he loved them to the end. This meaning is human, not divine, for it was not merely up to this point that we were loved by him who loves us always and endlessly. God forbid that he whose death could not end should have ended his love at death. Even after death that proud and ungodly rich man loved his five brothers.^[3] And is Christ to be thought of as loving us only till death? God forbid, beloved. He would have come in vain with a love for us that lasted till death, if that love had ended there. But perhaps the words he loved them unto the end may have to be understood in this way, that he so loved them as to die for them. For this he testified when he said, Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.^[4]

It seems to me that the Evangelist has not preserved the literal sequence concerning the washing in these words that he might raise our understanding to the spiritual sense of the things in the passage, since those who need to wash their feet wash them before supper and before they recline to eat. The Evangelist, however, passed over that proper time for washing in his account, and now, after he has reclined to eat, Jesus arises from supper, that the teacher and Lord might begin to wash the disciples’ feet after they have eaten.

The Evangelist inserts this as if in astonishment, showing that our Lord was about to wash the feet of the very person who had resolved to betray him. This also proves the great wickedness of Judas that even partaking of the same table, which checks the behavior of even the worst people, did not stop him.

I would also venture to say, as consistent with the statement, If I do not wash you, you have no part with me, that he did not wash Judas’s feet, [because] the devil had already put into his heart to betray the teacher and Lord, since the devil found him not clothed in the full armor of God and not having the shield of faith with which one can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.^[1] [The devil] is an archer [who] prepares fiery darts for those who do not keep their heart with all watchfulness.^[2] . . . In the case of Judas, therefore, it has been written, The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him. Consistently with this you might say of each of those wounded in the heart by the devil, the devil having already put it in the heart of so-and-so that he should commit fornication, and of so-and-so that he should commit fraud, and of so-and-so that, mad for fame, he should submit to the idolatry of those who seem to have rank, and so in the case of the other sins that the devil puts into that heart that is not armed with the shield of faith, by which shield of faith one can quench not one, or two, but all the fiery darts of the wicked one.^[3]

Judas was sleeping; therefore he did not hear the words of Christ. Judas was sleeping, yes, sleeping the sleep of wealth since he sought a reward from his betrayal. The devil saw that he was sleeping, yes, buried in the deep sleep of avarice. He let himself into his heart, wounded the horse and threw the rider whom he had separated from Christ.

The things, therefore, that were not formerly in Jesus’ hands are given into his hands by the Father. And it is not some things and not others that are given into his hands, but all things. David, too, seeing in the Spirit, says in relation to this, The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’^[1] For Jesus’ enemies were also a part of the all things that Jesus knew, so far as it was in the power of foreknowledge, to be given to him by the Father. . . . The Father has given all things into his hands, that is, into his power. For his hands hold all things. Or, the Father [has given all things] to him, for his work. My Father works still, and I work also.^[2]

Since the Evangelist was about to relate such a magnificent instance of our Lord’s humility, he first wanted to remind us of his majesty. This is why he says, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands . . . including his betrayer.

The Evangelist wonders aloud how one who was so very great, who came from God and went to him and ruled over everything, did not disdain to undertake such an action [of humility]. And by giving over I think John means the salvation of the faithful,^[1]. . . not that Christ would in any way be lessened by this action, since he came from God and went to God and possessed all things. But when you hear of giving over, you should not think of this action in human terms, because it shows how he honors the Father and demonstrates his unanimity with him. For just as the Father gives over to him, so he also gives over to the Father, as Paul declares saying, When he shall have given over the kingdom to God, even the Father.^[2] But John here means this in a more human sense, showing his great care for them and declaring his unutterable love in now caring for them as for his own.

In bringing to mind the spiritual meaning of the passage, the Evangelist here seems to me not to have observed the literal sequence of the washing. Normally, it is before supper and before sitting down to supper that those who need to wash their feet wash them. But passing over that time in his account, he says that Jesus, having already sat down for supper, arose from supper so that the Teacher and Lord may begin to wash the feet of the disciples after they had supper. For before the supper, they had been washed and were altogether clean.^[1] But after that washing they needed a second water for just their feet, that is, the lowest parts of the body.

The whole visible world proclaims the goodness of God, but nothing proclaims it so clearly as his coming among us, by which he whose state was divine assumed the condition of a slave. This was not a lowering of his dignity, but rather a manifestation of his love for us. The awesome mystery that takes place today brings us to the consequence of his action. For what is it that takes place today? The Savior washes the feet of his disciples. . . . Although he took upon himself everything pertaining to our condition as slaves, he took a slave’s position in a way specially suited to our own arrangements when he rose from the table.

He who feeds everything beneath the heavens was reclining among the apostles, the master among slaves, the fountain of wisdom among the ignorant, the Word among those untrained in the use of words, the source of wisdom among the unlettered. He who nourishes all was reclining and eating with his disciples. He who sustains the whole world was himself receiving sustenance.

Moreover, he was not satisfied with the great favor he showed his servants by sharing a meal with them. Peter, Matthew and Philip, men of the earth, reclined with him, while Michael, Gabriel and the whole army of angels stood by. Oh, the wonder of it! The angels stood by in dread, while the disciples reclined with him with the utmost familiarity!

And even this marvel did not content him. He rose from the table, as Scripture says. He who is clothed in light as in a robe was clad in a cloak. He who wraps the heavens in clouds wrapped round himself a towel. He who pours the water into the rivers and pools tipped some water into a basin. And he before whom every knee bends in heaven and on earth and under the earth knelt to wash the feet of his disciples.

Observe how not only by the washing but also in another way he exhibits humility. For it was not before reclining, but after they had all sat down, then he arose. In the next place, he does not merely wash them, but he does so taking off his garments. And he did not even stop here, but he girded himself with a towel. Nor was he satisfied with this, but himself filled [the basin] and did not ask another to fill it. He did all these things himself, showing by all of them that we must do such things when we are engaged in well doing, not merely for the sake of appearance but with every effort.

What prevented him from washing the disciples’ feet clothed? This is not a problem at all if we consider (in a manner worthy of Jesus) the garments that he wore while eating and rejoicing with the disciples and what adornment the Word that became flesh wears. But he lays aside that [kind of a garment] that consists in some weaving of words with words and voices with voices, and he becomes more naked in the fashion of a slave,^[1] which is signified by having taken a towel, he girded himself, both that he might not be completely naked, and that, after washing the disciples’ feet, he might dry them with a more appropriate cloth.

What is more contrary to expectation than this, what more awe-inspiring? He who is clothed with light as with a garment^[1] is girded with a towel. He who held the waters in the clouds^[2] and sealed the abyss with his fearsome name is bound about by a belt. He who gathers the waters of the sea like a wineskin^[3] pours water in a bowl. He who covers his upper chambers with waters,^[4] with water washed the feet of the disciples. He who measured heaven with his hand’s span and holds the earth in his grasp,^[5] with his undefiled palms wiped off the feet of servants. He for whom every knee bends, of those in heaven, and on earth and under the earth^[6] bowed his neck to attendant servants. The angels saw and recoiled; heaven beheld and shuddered; creation observed and trembled.

But why should we wonder that he rose from supper and laid aside his garments who, being in the form of God, emptied himself? And why should we wonder if he girded himself with a towel who took on him the form of a servant and was found in the likeness of a man?^[1] Why wonder if he poured water into a basin that he used to wash his disciples’ feet who poured his blood upon the earth to wash away the filth of their sins? Why wonder if with the towel in which he was girded he wiped the feet he had washed who with the very flesh that clothed him laid a firm pathway for the footsteps of his Evangelists? In order, indeed, to gird himself with the towel, he laid aside the garments he wore. But when he emptied himself in order to assume the form of a servant, he did not lay down what he had, but he assumed that which he did not have before. When about to be crucified, he was indeed stripped of his garments, and when he was dead, he was wrapped in linen clothes: and all that suffering of his is for our purification. When, therefore, about to suffer the last extremities of humiliation, he here illustrated beforehand its friendly compliances—not only to those for whom he was about to endure death but to him also who had resolved to betray him to death. Because so great is the beneficence of human humility that even the divine Majesty was pleased to commend it by his own example. For proud humans would have perished eternally had they not been found by the lowly God. For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.^[2] And as he was lost by imitating the pride of the deceiver, let him now, when found, imitate the Redeemer’s humility.

He rose from the table and put aside his [outer] garments when, ceasing the fuller sharing of his life in time with human beings, he put aside on the cross the bodily members that he had assumed. He took up a linen towel with which he girded himself, when, after having taken up for us the mandate of suffering that he had received from his Father, he covered his body with the torment of his passion. A linen towel, which is woven by the endless labor of twisting [flax], is usually taken to signify the pain of suffering. When our Lord had laid aside his [outer] garments, he girded himself with a linen towel to signify that he was putting aside the clothing of the body that he had put on, [and that he was doing this] not without the distress of sorrow but with the prolonged anguish of the cross.

The Wisdom of God that restrains the untamed fury of the waters that are above the firmament, that sets a bridle on the deep and keeps back the seas, now pours water into a basin; and the Master washed the feet of his servants. The Master shows to his disciples an example of humility . . . as he in whose hand is the life of all things kneels down to wash the feet of his servants.

I find the Lord divesting himself of his garments and girding himself with a towel, pouring water into a basin, washing the feet of his disciples. This water was that heavenly dew with which, it was prophesied, the Lord Jesus would wash the feet of his disciples.^[1] And now let the feet of our souls be extended. The Lord Jesus wishes to wash our feet also. . . . There is a kind of water that we pour into the basin of our soul, water from the fleece and from the book of Judges, water from the book of Psalms.^[2] The water is the dew of the heavenly message. Therefore, Lord Jesus, let this water come into my soul, into my flesh, that by the moisture of this rain the valleys of our minds and the fields of our inmost heart may grow green.^[3] Let your drops come on me, sprinkling grace and immortality. Wash the steps of my mind that I may not sin again. Wash off the heel of my spirit^[4] that I may be able to abolish the curse so that I may not feel the bite of the serpent on my inner foot,^[5] but, as you yourself have ordered your followers, that I may have the power with uninjured foot to tread on the serpents and scorpions. You have redeemed the world. Redeem the soul of one sinner.

Why do you suppose it was not written, He washed the disciples’ feet instead of And he began to wash the disciples’ feet? For is it the custom of the Scriptures to prefix he began without a reason, as in the usage of the majority? Or did Jesus then begin to wash the disciples’ feet and not stop when he had washed their feet at that time? For later he washed them and completed the washing, since they were defiled, according to the saying, You will all be made to stumble because of me this night,^[1] and what was said to Peter, The rooster will not crow until you deny me three times.^[2] For when these sins occurred, the defiled feet of the disciples were again in need of washing, which he had begun to wash when he rose from supper, [but] he completed the washing when he cleansed them that they might no longer be defiled.

The sea washes the brick, the Abyss washes the clay

They have reclined and He has stood, they are fed and He serves, they are washed and He wipes them clean;

May sleep take me to death, if I allow Thee, the Immortal,

But art Thou to wash my feet and limbs of clay, Thou, the Potter of the universe? KONTAKION

Now in the last days, when the fullness of the time of liberty had arrived, the Word himself did by himself wash away the filth of the daughters of Zion^[1] when he washed the disciples’ feet with his own hands. For this is the end [result] of the human race inheriting God. In the beginning, by means of our first [parents], we were all brought into bondage by being made subject to death. And so now, at last, by means of the new man, all who from the beginning were his disciples—having been cleansed and washed from whatever pertains to death—come to life with God. For he who washed the feet of the disciples sanctified the entire body and rendered it clean. For this reason, too, he administered food to them while reclining, indicating that those who were lying in the earth were those to whom he came to impart life.

It is good for the [feet and hands] to be consecrated . . . so that they are not swift to shed blood or to run to evil,^[1] but that they are prompt to run to the gospel and the prize of the high calling^[2] and to receive Christ who washes and cleanses them.

Humility is the principle of all virtues: it removes any contrast, division or dissension from human beings and plants into them peace and charity. And through charity it grows and increases.

The Lord of all creation washed his disciples’ feet! This was not an affront to his dignity but a demonstration of his boundless love for us. Yet however great his love was, Peter was well aware of his majesty. Always impetuous and quick to profess his faith, he was quick also to recognize the truth. The other disciples had let the Lord wash their feet, not with indifference but with fear and trembling. They dared not oppose the Master. Out of reverence, however, Peter would not permit it. He said, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? You shall never wash my feet!

Peter was adamant. He had the right feelings, but not understanding the full meaning of the incarnation, he first refused in a spirit of faith and afterward gratefully obeyed. This is how religious people ought to behave. They should not be obdurate in their decisions but should surrender to the will of God. For although Peter reasoned in human fashion, he changed his mind out of love for God.

[Peter] did not notice the mystery, and so he refused the ministry because he believed that the humility of the servant was being overtaxed if he patiently permitted the ministry of the Lord.

You came up from the font. What followed? You heard the reading. The girded priest—for, although the presbyters also do this, the highest priest, girded, I say, washed your feet.^[1] . . . We are not unaware of the fact that the church in Rome does not have this custom whose character and form we^[2] follow in all things, except for the fact that it^[3] does not have this custom of washing the feet. So note: perhaps on account of the multitude this practice declined. Yet there are some who say and try to allege in excuse that this is not to be done in the mystery, or in baptism or in regeneration, but the feet are to be washed as for a guest. But one belongs to humility, the other to sanctification. Finally, be aware that the mystery is also sanctification: Unless I wash you, you have no share with me. So I say this, not that I may rebuke others but that I may commend my own ceremonies. In all things I desire to follow the church in Rome, yet we, too, have human feeling. What is preserved more rightly elsewhere we, too, preserve more rightly.^[4]

[Our Lord teaches] that this act was a mystery. But what was it that Jesus was doing when he washed the disciples’ feet? Was he, by washing their feet and drying them with the towel with which he had girded himself, making them beautiful,^[1] since they were about to preach the good news? . . .

Now the feet of those proclaiming good news became beautiful, so that, when they were washed and cleansed and dried by Jesus’ hands, they might be able to walk on the holy way and travel over him who said, I am the way.^[2] For he alone, and everyone who has had his feet washed by Jesus, travels over this way, which is living and which brings one to the Father. This way admits no feet that are defiled and not yet clean. Moses therefore had to loose the sandals from his feet since the place to which he had come, on which he stood, was holy ground.^[3] And the same was true of Joshua the son of Nun.^[4] . . .

For me to wash your feet [Jesus says] is symbolic of the bases of your souls being purified, that they may be beautiful, since you are to preach the good news and to approach the souls of people with your feet clean. But you do not now know this mystery, inasmuch as you do not yet have knowledge of it. Such knowledge will more appropriately be present in you when I have washed your feet, and after this you will know, when you understand this mystery and are enlightened.

When the other disciples entrusted themselves to Jesus and offered no resistance, [Peter], by what he says (although he seemed well intentioned) not only accuses Jesus of beginning to wash the disciples’ feet without a reason but also accuses his companions. For if he acted properly (which he thought he did) when he wanted to hinder Jesus, but the other disciples did not see the propriety in his actions, then he accused those who presented their feet to Jesus, contrary to what was proper at least in his mind. And if he thought that one must not resist what is reasonable and supposed that what happened when the disciples’ feet were washed by Jesus was reasonable, he would not have resisted what happened. He appears, therefore, to have assumed rashly that Jesus’ desire to wash the disciples’ feet was not reasonable.

Since Peter’s answer was disadvantageous for him, Jesus, who in a manner appropriate to his own goodness prevents those things from becoming true that would prove harmful to the one who speaks them, does not permit Peter’s answer to become true.

When he heard these words, Peter the leader [of the Twelve] was at a loss as to his answer, saying, Alas, O Lord, I am thwarted in every direction. Presumption is a burden, but refusal is harmful. To say no deserves punishment, but assent is most difficult for me. Nonetheless, let the command of God and not the opposition of the servant prevail, the Wisdom of God and not the excuse of the servant. THE SLAVE APPALLED AT THE MASTER’S SERVICE. FLAVIAN OF CHALON-SUR-SAÔNE:

Rising from this noble feast

He gives us an example,

For lowliness’ sake

Approaching Peter’s feet.

The slave is appalled at the service,

When he beholds the angels’ Master

Carry water, and a towel,

And kneel upon the ground.

O Simon, let yourself be washed!

My acts are mysteries, and disclose

—As I, the Highest, fetch lowly things—

The honor due from dust to dust.

Here it is clearly pointed out that this washing of the feet implies the spiritual purification of body and soul without which we cannot arrive at fellowship with Christ.

As vehement as Peter was in self-deprecation, he was even more vehement in acquiescing. But he did both from love. For why didn’t Jesus say why he was doing what he did, instead of adding a threat? He did so because Peter would not have been persuaded. For had he said, Let this be done to you because I am trying to persuade you to be humble minded, Peter would have promised it ten thousand times so that his Master might not do this thing. But now what does Jesus say? He speaks of that which Peter most feared and dreaded—being separated from him. For it is Peter who continually asks, Where are you going? Therefore he also said, I will give even my life for you. And if, after hearing, What I do you do not understand now, but you will know later, he still persisted, much more would he have done so had he learned [the meaning of the action]. Therefore Jesus says, but you shall know later, being aware that should he learn it immediately he would still resist.

Simon did not want his teacher to wash his feet. The purpose of our Lord’s action was . . . to teach you that you should deeply love and eagerly help one another. Peter did not know that that was the purpose of his action. So again our Lord said to him who was still resisting, Unless I wash you, you have no share with me. Since from these words Peter believed that this washing of the feet was in place of baptism,^[1] and that from it he would have obtained his share with the Lord and therefore might say that he was entirely washed—if this was the present situation, the Lord corrected his ignorance by saying, One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you. Then the Evangelist by explaining the words of our Lord added, For he knew who was to betray him. For this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’ By speaking to Simon our Lord means to say: This is not the baptism for the remission of sins. You have already received it once and do not need it twice, because you were made clean by the first you received. Now it is necessary that only your feet are washed, and soon you will know the purpose of this act. Certainly the disciples received the baptism of remission from John, in which the teaching of our Lord confirmed them even more by exhorting them to virtue. And then the descended Spirit perfected them when it later came on them.

And if they are clean, why does he wash their feet? He does so, so that we may learn to be modest. This is why he came not to any other part of the body, but to that which is considered more dishonorable than the rest. But what is meant by he that is washed, which is said instead of he that is clean? Were they then clean who had not yet been delivered from their sins or deemed worthy of the Spirit, since sin still had the mastery, the handwriting of the curse still remaining, the victim not having yet been offered? Why then does he call them clean? That you may not consider them clean as delivered from their sins, he adds, You are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you. That is, You are clean insofar as you have received the light and have been freed from error.

Jesus is giving clear notice that this washing of the feet indicates pardoning of sins, and not only that which is given once in baptism but in addition that by which the daily guilty actions of the faithful that everyone lives with in this life are cleansed by his daily grace. Our feet, by which we move about [and] touch the ground—and for this reason we cannot keep them free from contact with dirt, as we can the rest of our bodies—signify the necessity of our living on earth, by which we who are idle and negligent are daily affected to a great extent. Even outstanding people who live the highest kind of life are distracted from the heavenly contemplation that they love so much, so that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.^[1] . . .

The person who has been cleansed in the baptismal font and has received pardon for all his sins has no need to be cleansed again. Moreover, he cannot be cleansed again in the same way. He finds it necessary only to have the daily defilements of his worldly life wiped away by the daily forgiveness of his Redeemer. His whole body, together with its actions, is clean, with the exception merely of those things that cling to the mind because of the necessities of temporal cares. For their daily polluting and cleansing we say daily in prayer, And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.^[2]

In baptism all fault is washed away. So fault withdraws. But since Adam was overthrown by the devil^[1] and venom was poured out on his feet, this is why you wash the feet, so that in this part in which the serpent lay in wait, the greater aid of sanctification can be added so that he cannot conquer you later. Therefore, you wash the feet so that you can wash away the poisons of the serpent. It also benefits humility because then we are not ashamed of what we disdain in obedience in the Mystery.

The eleven who had bathed and were clean became even cleaner when they had their feet washed by Jesus. But Judas who was already unclean, for it says, He who is filthy, let him be filthy still,^[1] became filthier and unclean when Satan entered him after the morsel.^[2]

Jesus clearly knew that Judas felt no kindness or wise consideration for his master. He also knew that Judas was full of devilishly bitter poison, and even while [his feet were being washed by Jesus] he was devising the means to betray him. Nevertheless, Jesus honored him just as much as the rest of the disciples and washed his feet as well, continually exhibiting his own unique love. Jesus did not express his anger, in fact, until he had tried every kind of objection. Note how this special quality is distinctive of the divine nature. Although God knows what is about to happen, he brings his punishment prematurely on no one. Rather, after bearing with the guilty for as long as is possible or necessary, when he sees them in no way profiting from the delay but instead remaining in their self-chosen evil ways, then he finally punishes them, showing it to be actually the result of their perverse folly and not really an effect of his own counsel or will.

In his gentleness our Lord humbled his wise hands by washing the feet of his betrayer, who expressed his gratitude for the cleansing with the nails of the cross.

Jesus washed the feet of the disciples insofar as he was their teacher, and the feet of the servants insofar as he was their Lord. For the dust from the earth and from worldly things is cleared away by teaching, since it reaches nothing else than the extremities and lower parts of the disciples. But those things that defile the feet are also removed by the lordship of the ruler, since he has authority over those who still receive common defilement because they still have the spirit of bondage.^[1]

And this is the goal of the teacher, as teacher, for the disciple. He wants to make the disciple like himself, so that he may no longer need the teacher, as teacher, although he will need him in other respects.

Christ does not hold the title Lord as an empty name of honor like we do when we are decorated by the favor of others with titles that surpass our nature and merit, even though we remain mere servants by nature. Rather, Jesus is Lord by nature, possessing authority over the universe as God, as it is said somewhere by the psalmist, all things are your servants.^[1] Also, he is Master [or Teacher] by nature, for all wisdom comes from the Lord,^[2] and all understanding comes by him. For inasmuch as he is wisdom he makes all intelligent beings wise, and in every rational creature, both in heaven and on earth, he implants the intelligence that is appropriate for it.

Our Lord first did something then taught it, because Jesus, establishing the pattern of a good teacher, taught nothing except those things that he did.^[1]

But consider if it is not also difficult for anyone who is a disciple of Christ who wishes to fulfill the command that says, You also ought to wash one another’s feet, since he is obliged to desire to perform the work of washing his brothers’ feet, which are physical and perceptible to the senses. Consequently, the faithful [are obliged] to do this in whatever station of life they happen to be, whether bishops and presbyters who seem to be in ecclesiastical prominence, or even those in other positions of honor in the world. This means that the master comes to wash the feet of the believing servant, and parents wash the feet of their son. This custom either does not occur, or it occurs exceedingly rarely and among those who are very simple and rustic.

I also, then, wish to wash the feet of my brothers and sisters. I wish to fulfill the mandate of the Lord. I do not wish to be ashamed of myself or to disdain what he himself did first. The mystery of humility is good because, while I wash the filth of others, I wash away my own. But not all were able to drink in this mystery. Indeed, Abraham also wished to wash feet, but out of a feeling of hospitality.^[1] Gideon, too, wished to wash the feet of the angel of the Lord who appeared to him. But he wished to do this as one who was offering obedience, not as one who was offering fellowship. This is a great mystery that no one understands.

This act is done literally by many when they receive one another in hospitality. . . . For it is unquestionably better that it should be done with the hands and that the Christian does not disdain to do what Christ did. For when the body is bent at the feet of a brother, the feeling of humility is made to rise in the heart, or, if it is already there, it is confirmed. But besides this moral meaning . . . is not a brother able to change a brother from the pollution of sin? . . . Let us confess our faults one to another, forgive one another’s faults and pray for one another’s faults.^[1] . . . In this way we shall wash one another’s feet.

Somehow we are always grasping after what is greater, and the empty honors of life are always persuading our weak minds to vault up toward a more glorious position. In order, therefore, to save ourselves from this disease and obtain final relief from such a loathsome passion—for the passion of vainglory is a mere fraud and nothing less—let us engrave on our inmost hearts the memory of Christ, the King of all, washing his disciples’ feet, to teach us also to wash one another’s feet. For in this way, every tendency to arrogance will be restrained and every form of worldly pride will depart from among us.

Therefore, imitate me, your Lord, that through this sacred work of mine you may become sharers of the divine nature.^[1] I decided to portray in advance for you this most excellent path of exaltation. I bent down once to the earth when I gave you existence and my good will as I took the clay of the earth and fashioned humanity, establishing a living being on the earth.^[2] And now I have seen fit to bend down that I may strengthen the foundation and pedestal of my collapsing creation. I have placed enmity and cursing between the deceiver and the deceived, a wariness of head and heel.^[3] And now I arm the wounded heel against the serpent, that it may no more limp away from the straight path. I have strengthened your feet to walk on serpents and scorpions and every power of the enemy, and they will not harm you at all.^[4] Through arrogance the one whispering of exaltation tore down the loftiness of the earth-born, first-created one. Smash his insolence by cheerful humility toward one another.

And yet it is not the same thing, for he is Lord and Master, but you are fellow servants one of another. What does as mean then [when he says, If I as your Lord and Master do this]? It means we should do it with the same zeal. For on this account he takes instances from greater actions that we may, if so be it, perform the lesser actions. Thus schoolmasters write the letters for children very beautifully, that they may come to imitate them, though in an inferior manner. Where now are they who spit on their fellow servants? Where now they who demand honors? Christ washed the feet of the traitor, the sacrilegious, the thief—and he did this close to the time of the betrayal—and incurable as [Judas] was, made him a partaker of his table. And are you high minded, and do you raise your eyebrows? Let us then wash one another’s feet. But then someone says, Then we must wash those of our domestics. And what a great thing it is if we do wash even those of our domestics! In our case slave and free is a difference of words. But there it is an actual reality. For by nature he was Lord and we were the servants, yet even this he did not refuse to do at that time. But now it is considered praiseworthy if we do not treat free people as bondmen, as slaves bought with money. And what shall we say in that day, if after receiving proofs of such forbearance, we ourselves do not imitate them at all but do the exact opposite and, acting in diametrical opposition to Jesus’ words, remain prideful and do not discharge the debt? For God has made us debtors one to another, having first done so himself, and has made us debtors of a lesser amount. For he was our Lord, and he did this. But we do it, if we do it at all, to our fellow servants, a thing that he himself implied by saying, If I then your Lord and Master do this, so should you. Indeed it would have naturally followed to say, How much more should you servants, but he left this to the conscience of the hearers.

[I]f the servant is not greater than his Lord, let those who follow the Lord humbly and peacefully and silently tread in his steps, since the lower one is, the more exalted one may become, as the Lord says, He that is least among you shall be the greatest.^[1]

The Savior, who is Lord, does something that surpasses all other lords, who have no desire to see their servants rise up to their level. He is such a Son of the Father’s goodness and love that, although he was Lord, he produced servants who could become like him, their Lord, not having the spirit of bondage, which comes from fear, but the spirit of adoption in which they too cry, Abba, Father. So then, before becoming like their teacher and lord, they need to have their feet washed because they are still deficient disciples who possess the spirit of bondage to fear. But when they attain the stature of master and lord . . . then they will be able to imitate their master and wash the disciple’s feet as the teacher.

He points out here what an inadmissible offense it would be for servants to refuse to be of the same mind as their own masters. Such a passionate longing for greater and higher things than our merits deserve is really covetousness and nothing else. And he would be perfectly just in bringing the same charge against the apostles, namely, of seeking to be on a higher level than he who commissioned them, if they acted like this. The mind of the One who sent them should be a sufficient yardstick of the glory they seek. It is as if he were saying You will be laughed right out of the divine tribunal if your pride gets in the way of doing for each other what I have done for you. You are servants. I, on the other hand, have always been from the very beginning, by nature, your God and Lord. It would be preposterous and the height of madness for servants who, by definition, are inferior to their master, to be ashamed at the idea of being servants to one another.

It is not the knowledge of virtue but rather the practice of it that may be appropriately called worthy of both love and enthusiasm. . . . Whenever actions go hand in hand with knowledge, then assuredly there is no small gain. But when either is lacking, the other will be seriously crippled. And it is written, even faith apart from works is dead.^[1] Although the knowledge of God who is one even in nature, and the confession of God in guilelessness and truth is all included in faith, even this is dead if it is not accompanied by the bright light that proceeds from works. Surely, therefore, it is utterly profitless merely to know what is good and yet have no desire to practice it at once.