April 18, Maundy Thursday (John 13:1-17, 31b-35)
Foot washing expresses John’s vision of communion.
In L’Arche communities around the world, foot washing is a central celebration of common life. During Holy Week and throughout the year, people who live together in homes in India and Bethlehem, Iowa and Toronto, France and Uganda gather as Jesus did with his disciples. In living rooms and church basements, these community members pour water onto one another’s feet and gently blot wet toes with towels.
It may seem strange that this of all rituals in the Christian tradition is so deeply embedded into the spirituality of L’Arche. After all, in this international federation of homes for people with and without intellectual disabilities, physical care for bodies is extended and received routinely—bathing, dressing, cutting up food, brushing teeth.
But perhaps this is the crux of liturgy and sacrament: we solemnize the everyday. In the Lord’s Supper we eat. In baptism we wash. And in foot washing we care for the bodies of others.
