Pastor Dave Ginter
 
Clean Feet: Going Beyond Forgiveness and Embracing Reconciliation

One of the greatest damages to the Good News of Jesus Christ is the lack of forgiving Christians. While there is no shortage of forgiven Christians, it’s rare to find recipients who quickly dispense the same kind of forgiveness they’ve received. So when Christians pray, “…and forgive us our sins to the same degree we forgive others”, do we really mean it?

Some Christians claim to have forgiven but in the end, want no relationship with the one who has supposedly been forgiven. How can we forgive when we do not “feel like it”? Next, how can we grow through our anger enough to help the forgiven one to be returned to “community”? I want to examine these two ideas.

The American Civil War is an excellent example of the destructiveness of an unforgiving spirit.On October 17, 1978 Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, was "forgiven" by the government of the United States. He had been dead since 1889. Before the Civil War he had been a congressman, a senator, and a cabinet member. After the war he was imprisoned for two years without trial. Then he was released from prison, but his citizenship was not restored until 1978, a little too late to do him any good.

*Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).

Jesus’ Teaching on Forgiveness and Restoration
John 13:1-17
1Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of his love. 2It was time for supper, and the Devil had already enticed Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to carry out his plan to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.
6When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, why are you going to wash my feet?”
7Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; someday you will.”
8“No,” Peter protested, “you will never wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “But if I don’t wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
9Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”
10Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet,to be entirely clean. And you are clean, but that isn’t true of everyone here.” 11For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because it is true. 14And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. 17You know these things—now do them! That is the path of blessing.

THE NEED TO FORGIVE AND RESTORE:TO CLEAN FEET!
Cosimo de Medici said, "We read that we ought to forgive our enemies, but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends." In practice it may be a lot easier to forgive our enemies than it is to forgive our friends. We don't expect much from our enemies. We expect a lot from our friends. When they disappoint us, or betray us, we find it very hard to forgive them.

*Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).

Jesus forgave both his enemies and maybe more amazingly, his friends!
In his book, "None of These Diseases," Dr. S.I. McMillen says, "Medical science recognizes that emotions such as fear, sorrow, envy, resentment and hatred are responsible for the majority of our sicknesses. Estimates vary from 60 to nearly 100 percent."
I read about one patient who was told by his doctor. "If you don't cut out your resentments, I may have to cut out a part of your intestinal tract."
The reality is what we fail to forgive keeps us bound to and by the past. Forgiveness sets the hurt person free.

WHAT IT TAKES TO CLEAN FEET
Lose Something: Memory Loss… Perceive their Potential
Gain Something: Modesty Gain … Passionately Serve
Do Something: Mission for Life… Proceed to Perform 

1.           Lose Something: Memory Loss 
(Jesus chose to let go of the coming betrayals by his disciples) Perceive their Potential

Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before.  But she acted as if she had never heard of the incident.  "Don't you remember it?"  her friend asked.  "No," came Barton's reply.  "I distinctly remember forgetting it." 
*Luis Palau, Experiencing God's Forgiveness.  Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no. 1.

2. Gain Something: Modesty Gain  (Jesus took on the role of servant. He went to them – vs. 1, 4-5) Passionately Serve

(Mother Teresa) “The church wants "renewal."  Renewal does not mean changing a habit and a few prayers.  Renewal is faithfulness to the spirit of the constitutions, a spirit which seeks holiness by means of a poor and humble life, the exercise of sincere and patient charity, spontaneous sacrifice and generosity of heart, and which finds its expression in purity and candor.” 
*Mother Teresa in Jesus, the Word to Be Spoken.  Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 14.

3.    Do Something: Mission for Life
(Vs 15 &17: Just DO it!) Proceed to Perform 

 When our son Elton was little old, he was out playing in the back yard and got a splinter in his hand. He came in and held up his hand. He was crying, and he said, "I got a splinter in my hand!" His mother said "Sit on the couch. Let's look at it." So she looked at it.
            No! Don’t touch it!
She wanted to say to him, "Elton, don't you trust me? What do you think I'm going to do, cut your hand off? I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you, and if you don't let me help you, it's going to get worse not better. Trust me; I'm your mother. I love you. I care about you. I do this only to help you. Be still. Relax."
I think sometimes God in heaven must look down upon us, and we must be like a little child who says, "God, I'm hurt. God help me." God reaches in to help us, and the first thing we do is say, "God, don't touch me! Don't do that God!" God is saying, "But I've got to reach in there and deal with the hurt. It may hurt a little, but I've got to do it." We say, "No, God. Please, nothing like that!"

So here we are fighting with God. How many times in our lives do we find ourselves on the surgery table of the Almighty, where God is trying to work in our lives that miracle of making us like Christ, and when we realize what God's doing, we wake up and say, "God, I don't want you to do this. Let me out of here!"?
*Mike Huckabee, "Practice of Patience," Preaching Today, Tape No. 78.


Forgiveness is God’s surgical incision to remove hatred and bitterness from our lives.
But God understands our struggle to forgive. And God forgives us for our struggle!

In one Polish city there is a street named Beautiful. It is probably the ugliest street in town. Unpaved, it is filled with ruts and potholes, and to drive faster than five miles an hour would be unthinkable. Obviously the street didn't turn out the way planners had hoped. What about our lives? Did they start out to be beautiful and become ugly? Are we living with unfulfilled dreams and unrealized plans? Probably all of us are, but we serve an understanding and a forgiving God.
*Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).

I hope this helps us all to pray more truthfully the Lord's Prayer. I hope we become less likely to step on those who step on us. I hope we all become more like the One who washes dirty feet, forgiving and restoring our brothers and sisters back to their high calling in Christ Jesus.
 


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