The servants of the servants of God. April 21st, Entry #73.

Sara:  It's Holy Thursday.  The start of the Triduum.  I love the Triduum.  So many beautiful traditions wrapped into these 3 days.  All week I have been planning to put up a video or a song or something about the Last Supper or the Washing of the Feet....something inspirational and moving that will cause all of you to cry and go out and love Jesus.  BUT, nothing I found was taking me there and it certainly wasn't going to take you there.  So then I started thinking about the foot washing, and that took me to my own experience (3 really) of foot washing.

Ahh Prayer and Action.  You all know how much I love this program, but let me take you back 3 years to the very first one I attended.  On Wednesday night, we were in our leader meeting learning about the night's activities and quickly running through Thursday's activities as well.  All was fine and well until Gale told us that Thursday night included a foot washing ceremony.  I turned to Aaron, cocked my eyebrow, dropped my head in contempt and he shook his head a little and rolled his eyes.  You see, Aaron and I...not so much the touchy, feely, close your eyes and imagine God's presence kind of people.  Nuh-uh, no way, yuck.  And you want us to be part of a cheesy, lame, seemingly meaningless foot washing ceremony AND convince my kiddos that "no, really, this will be awesome and moving and change your life".  Not a chance.

BUT, we didn't have a choice.  We had to do it, and we were going to do it with smiles because we're awesome like that.  So, Thursday night rolls around and the staff starts by going in pairs to each chaperon, washing our feet and then praying over us so that no one else can hear.  When they were done, they gave Aaron and I our own bucket and towel and we went and did the same to all the kiddos in our group.  Aaron and I were wrong, dead wrong.  It WAS awesome and moving.  Man, I hate when I'm wrong.  It was touching and personal and not meaningless at all, but definitely very meaningful and powerful.  It is obviously humbling to wash another person's feet, but it is even more humbling to have someone pray over you, to offer up your struggles to God for you.  Yikes.

Every year since then I look forward to Thursday night. I know that the return kiddos do too.  After the actual foot washing we gather these kiddos up in a tower of prayer and they just lose it.  They break.  They cry.  They think.  They pray.  They are humbled....just like the Apostles.

Some of my favorites over the years:
** Blake telling Aaron right before we wash his feet: *make sure you get between the toes"
** Big, tough guys dripping tears down onto the floor and snotting themselves.
** The kiddos hugging and comforting each other after they have been prayed over.
** Andrew telling me that he was going to pray over our kiddos with me because he just loves them.

So, tonight, Holy Thursday, we remember Jesus washing his Apostles feet.  He did it and then told them, "If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.  I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."  At Prayer and Action our kiddos work SOOO hard all week.....and they don't complain or take the easy way out.  They make sure the work gets done, they serve with compassion and integrity.  They least, the very least, we could do for them, is show them this act of charity, to do for them what Jesus did for his Apostles.

We were, as John Paul II so perfectly coined, the servants of the servants of God.