Baptizing Our Imaginations in the Basin
As Christians, we give much time to consider how we might restructure our thoughts. This is appropriate, since God speaks to us through our understanding and calls us to use our minds to exert self-control over our fallen intuitions (Eph. 4:17-24). And in so doing, we refuse to conform to the fallen culture around us.
But if we address only the intellect and neglect the imagination, we’ll redirect our thinking only to leave our intuition bound by surrounding cultural attitudes. By imagination I mean the possibility of conceiving of our lives differently, and by intuition I mean our reflexive responses to the events of our daily lives. The relationship between these two human capacities is of the utmost importance, since our imaginations guide our intuitions.
So how might we imagine and intuit differently?
To answer this question, we must consider “cultural alternatives.” Cultures work like ecosystems forming our imaginations into cultural constraints. If our imaginations are incapable of envisioning lives different from our cultural peers, we’ll find it difficult to live out intuitively Scripture’s commands. Therefore, we must recognize the importance, not simply of right doctrine guiding our decisions, but also of “cultural alternatives” helping us imagine the world differently.[1]
“Cultural alternatives” can be defined as well-ordered practices and actions that inform and reinforce our thinking. Some examples might include writing and reading poetry, Sacred Harp singing, painting, gardening, contra dancing, and quilting. Such practices profoundly, yet subtly effect our imaginations about the world. By reordering our imaginations and our intuitions we better understand what it means to renew the “spirit” of our minds (Eph. 4:23) and live more holistically sanctified lives.
Postmodern Christian thinkers often emphasize the importance of cultural alternatives for twenty-first century Christians. In fact, some such thinkers even advocate the use of cultural alternatives (such as art and interpretive dance) within the context of the church service. As Free Will Baptists, we can appreciate their new-found emphasis on meaningful cultural alternatives, though we must differ from those who would indiscriminately use alternatives in a worship setting. That said, we can affirm culturally alternative practices in the church when they are expressly found in the New Testament. One such example is the practice of feet washing, the topic upon which we’ll focus in this article.
Feet washing transforms our imaginations and intuitions into those of a servant. When we kneel at the basin, we practice love-inspired humility, forgiveness, and service. As we explore these topics throughout this article, we’ll first examine Jesus’ example, and then consider its implications for us.
Laying Aside our Pride: The Humiliation of Christ
An earthly king’s glory consists of kingly trappings: thrones, ministers, crowns, and so forth. However, Christ is more than just an earthly king. From eternity He has sat on Heaven’s throne, surrounded by innumerable angels’ praises. At the appointed time though, He laid aside the glories of deity and became a creature (Phil. 2:5-8). We call this the “humiliation of Christ.”
We have no such kingly trappings. Instead, our glory is revealed in our self-regard. While we’re at work, at our child’s ball game, and even at church, we hold ourselves in too high esteem. Even though we freely confess our fallen nature, we act as if we’re impeccable.
Therefore, we must reorder our imaginations about ourselves. The act of kneeling to wash a brother’s or sister’s feet calls us to do just this, by following Christ’s example of humbly laying aside His glory. In this way, feet washing becomes a cultural alternative that engenders a humble spirit. As we assume a position of humility, our perception of self-worth is reordered.
When we practice feet washing, we begin to see ourselves as we really are in relation to our fellow creatures. Through faithful practice, this new attitude will begin to grow in us, guiding our imaginations to intuit more readily a humble disposition toward others where we could not before. However, feet washing doesn’t simply teach us about humility, but about love too.
When Love and Humility Kiss Over the Basin
Christ’s humility did not flow from a sense of duty or constraint, but from love. John begins his account of that Passover night by describing Jesus’ attitude: “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (Jn. 13:1). Later, in his first epistle, John helps us understand this kind of love: “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us” (1 Jn. 3:16). Indeed, love and humility are intertwined, inseparably and intimately. Christ’s infinite humiliation in laying aside His glory and dying upon a cross reflects His infinite love for us.
By the same token, when we love someone like Christ, we put them before ourselves, thereby humbling ourselves before them. If we should come to the basin without love, humility will also be absent. Acts of service performed from a sense of duty have no place in the washing of the saints’ feet. We’re not performing a favor for our brothers and sisters, and we aren’t blessing them by our condescension. Instead, we’re showing them love through our willing and cheerful humiliation. Without love, we’ll only fulfill an empty act that facilitates our own pride, rather than reorder our imaginations toward humble service. But when love and humility kiss over the basin, true service is born, both toward our friends and our enemies.
Serving Friends and Enemies
Jesus physically embodied love and humility by lowering Himself to serve His friends and His enemies. The little vignette of Christ bending to wash Peter’s feet shows the truth of friendship (Jn. 13:6-11). These were Jesus’ own: His friends—and Peter was one of His dearest. Though Jesus humbled Himself before those He loved, they did not all love Him. Jesus didn’t simply wash the feet of His friends, but also His betrayer.
This was no easy taks for Jesus. In Hebrews, we find that Jesus is a great high priest Who can sympathize with us, because He was tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). Scripture testifies that Jesus was troubled in His spirit that night (Jn. 13:21), yet He humbled Himself to serve and love even Judas. When we take our turn to wash another’s feet, we are presented with the opportunity to humble ourselves even before those with whom we have contentions.
Though it may be easy for us to humble ourselves before a friend, we likely need the most practice before those with whom we are at odds. In washing feet, our natural intuition to demonize the offending party is confronted head-on. Thus, we must learn to imagine ourselves humbly loving even those who hate us. And in so doing, we learn another important theme: forgiveness.
Forgiveness
Through feet washing we learn that though we are justified at the moment of faith, we still require daily forgiveness and cleansing. Because our old nature still resides within us, our natural man and our new spirit war with one another, and daily we find ourselves soiled with sin.
When Peter first denies Jesus the opportunity to wash his feet, Jesus explains that there is no fellowship with Him without this cleansing (Jn. 13:8). Peter responds characteristically, “Then wash my head and my hands too!” Jesus clarifies, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet” (Jn. 13:9-10). In other words, we must come daily to be cleansed of the dirt that accumulates on our feet as we traverse this fallen world.
When we let a brother or sister wash our feet, we practice confessing our fallenness to them. And certainly we must allow our feet to be washed, because in so doing we begin to imagine ourselves as broken and fallible. Conversely, the one kneeling must forgive their brother’s or sister’s faults too. Instead of rejecting them because of their sins, we must embrace them at the point of brokenness to help them cleanse themselves.
As we kneel at the basin, we reorder our imaginations to seeing ourselves and our neighbors equally in need of forgiveness. We mustn’t shy away from pointing out the filth in our natures, but neither should we abandon each other. Instead we bring one another (as the old hymns put it) to the fount that washes whiter than snow.
Conclusion
To reorder our imaginations and intuitions, we must go beyond just reasonable arguments. Right doctrine is of primary importance, because it informs us of how we should control our actions and attitudes. However, in addition to right doctrine, we must find cultural alternatives that help to reorder our imaginations and intuitions.
Perhaps no better alternative exists than Christ’s command for us to wash one another’s feet. For as we wrap the towel about our waste and kneel at our neighbor’s feet, we baptize our imaginations in the basin while incarnating humility, love, service, and forgiveness.
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Recommended Book: J. Matthew Pinson, The Washing of the Saints Feet (Nashville: Randall House, 2006).
[1] Ken Meyers, from the introduction to his interview with Christian Smith entitled, “On the Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood, “ Mars Hill Audio Journal 112, Published 12/01/11, accessed at https://marshillaudio.org/catalog/volume-112.
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