tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post8778178684668760471..comments2023-10-07T08:24:12.797-04:00Comments on Video! Audio! Disco!: Should Foot Washing Be a Sacrament?jmwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10775720474363733288noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post-42938171054997177772012-04-12T13:23:32.301-04:002012-04-12T13:23:32.301-04:00Thanks, Brescia. I was hoping to get some push bac...Thanks, Brescia. I was hoping to get some push back from someone because I intentionally took an unorthodox stance on this matter. I find that simply learning to see from a different angle helps me consider matters afresh. This is more of a thought experiment than a propositional truth claim! (isn't all theology?:) )<br /><br />That said, I would have to agree with some of your insights, but not all. Your strongest point, in my opinion, is that the early church (a la Paul) did not take up foot-washing as a rite or sacrament. I think this merits attention and is probably the strongest evidence for following the tradition. <br /><br />I also agree that Jesus seems to encourage the sacramentality of the Last Supper: "Do this in remembrance of me." The Eucharist is no doubt the strongest example of sacrament.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I still struggle with understanding the difference between the scene in John 13 and the two bona fide sacraments. Like Baptism, foot washing was also a custom in that culture - perhaps not as explicit as the initiation rite of baptism, but a custom no less. Was Jesus radicalizing that custom? And like Jesus' command at the Last Supper, he also commands his disciples to continue the practice of foot-washing, albeit as an "example" and not in remembrance of Jesus. Perhaps this small difference is significant. <br /><br />But I also find John 13:7 very interesting. Jesus indicates that what he is doing the disciples do not yet understand, but will later (implying his death?). Is this not more than object lesson on humility? <br /><br />As always, I love the dialogue. I won't be authoring a tome on foot-washing as a sacrament anytime soon, but it is a good topic to take seriously. My own experiences of washing or being washed have been quite moving and I do wish that Christians practiced the act more often.<br /><br />Peace!jmwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10775720474363733288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post-21235754701897697662012-04-11T19:55:05.805-04:002012-04-11T19:55:05.805-04:00Hi Josh, I've thought a bit about this blog e...Hi Josh, I've thought a bit about this blog entry. I cannot say I agree with you; indeed, I emphatically do not. It seems to me that a basic difference between the moments in Jesus' life that became sacraments and those that did not was the occasion and what that occasion, coupled with other teachings and subsequent practices, indicated about Jesus' intentions. For example: Jesus used baptism, which was, as you know, an already existing initiation rite. In doing so, he follows John the Baptizer's example, and then, when leading his own disciples, Jesus makes Baptism their initiation rite. And, of course, later a command was added that, combined with the occasion of Jesus' Baptism and his use of the rite in his own ministry through the agency of his disciples, led naturally to sacramental thinking and status for Baptism. <br /><br />As for the Eucharist: Jesus prepared carefully for the Supper, and says much in the course of it about its meaning reified through his own actions and purposes. Then Paul refers to Communion/Eucharist as central tradition as he refers to no other act of the Church (I Corinthians 11). So it is not surprising that sacramental status and thinking again flowed naturally from Communion. <br /><br />I think your seeing sacramental aspects in the foot washing wrests it out of context. The foot washing was an accidental moment occasioned by Jesus' disciples' pride, which Jesus merely turned into an object lesson – a very important one, but an object lesson and no more. If it has the sacramental elements you refer to, they are not made use of by Jesus the way "the elements" are by his intention and interpretation and uses of the two, bona fide, sacraments.<br /><br />As always, your essay is well written and carefully reasoned; but in this case, I must disagree.Bresciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08014403686354849516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3720168535355928476.post-45088829653405038192012-04-07T09:58:57.088-04:002012-04-07T09:58:57.088-04:00josh,
i see your point here. great thinking and g...josh,<br /><br />i see your point here. great thinking and great writing... but I do have an issue:<br /><br />some people got stank feet<br /><br />so, before we go making this a sacrament and all, maybe we should do a little <a href="http://www.aofas.org/footcaremd/how-to/foot-health/Pages/How-to-Practice-Good-Foot-Hygiene.aspx" rel="nofollow">foot hygiene promotion</a>? <br /><br />just think about it...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com