Read: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022 brought many positive stories of her leadership during the seven decades of her reign. One of the most touching ones was from a gentleman named Pete Morgan, who spoke of having the job of revising the plans for Operation Overstudy in 2009, which details how the UK would repatriate the Queen’s body if she were to die overseas. The plans to use a BAE 146 business jet to use it were faulty as the freight bay was almost impossible to access after recent modifications, so they were trying to figure out what type of aircraft to use. The aircraft had to be able to land at RAF Northfort near London, and the two choices were the C17 and the C130. The C130 would have been too noisy, so the C17 was considered the better choice, having been used to bring home the remains of troops from Afghanistan. The plans were sent to Buckingham Palace for approval, and the Queen’s response was beautiful:

“If it’s good enough for my boys, then it’s good enough for me.”

Thirteen years later, that C17 Globemaster that was “good enough for her boys” was the plane that carried her coffin from Edinburgh to RAF Northfort accompanied by Princess Anne and an RAF Honor Guard.

That story comes to mind for me today as we read about Jesus stripping off his outer robe, tying a towel around himself, grabbing a basin, and washing the feet of his disciples. Washing feet was a dirty job that was reserved for the lowest of the servants. Think of the sand and dust that caked them and how filthy the water and towel would be at the end! Why would a respected teacher do such a gross task??? Well, one of the signs of an effective leader is humility. The best leaders get down in the muck with us and help, so Jesus doing such a filthy job is him trying to demonstrate humility to his disciples, who have no clue that he is not the conquering king that they are expecting. He then challenges them to do this for others, telling them that he has set an example for them.

Gracious God, you showed your disciples that to be a leader, you need to be a servant. Help us to follow your example and “wash each other’s feet”. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

Read: John 12:20-36

The scene this passage from John sets for us is scripted for dramatic effect. Tell me you don’t immediately visualize how verses 21-32 play out as you read them. As an exercise in constructive confrontation befitting a spiritual leader, however, I think the Lord could have handled the situation with a mind toward more generally accepted HR practices. Rather than “out” him as a betrayer in front of his peers, wouldn’t dealing with Judas one-on-one have been preferable? One could argue, of course, that public humiliation was a small penance for the one who sold out the only Begotten Son of God for a few pieces of silver.

If I may linger on the topic of “leadership by example” for a moment longer, I know that this is going to seem petty of me, but I can’t help but feel that Jesus is exhibiting some passive/aggressive behavior. Imagine instead re-writing verse 26 as, “Jesus answered, ‘Listen up, yo! There’s something important I need to say to our brother Judas here, and just so y’all are on the same page with this, I’m saying it in front of you as well.”

Of course, what these admittedly irreverent musings ignore (besides the fact that there was a time not all that long ago when I would have been burned at the stake for expressing them) is the fact that what transpired between Jesus and Judas, as the Lord himself freely admitted, was nothing other than the fulfillment of scripture. From that standpoint, it’s a bit creepy to think that Jesus was colluding with the devil. Between the sacrament and Satan, Judas didn’t stand a chance — which is why I had some compassion for him even before I saw “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Lord, keep me strong in faith and in covenant with you and with all those with whom I enter into relationship. Amen.
-Michael Boss