DeacPost “Made Clean – Yes. Exactly.” Deaconess Diane Marten

“He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him…” John 13:5

A whole lot of washing is going on at Laundry and More, a free laundry for poorer neighbors. A whole lot of washing is needed. Dirty clothes from towels and blue jeans to baby clothes.

But the “more” includes a kind of loving that says, “We all need washing; we are in this together.” Loving cleans more than clothes; it cleans hearts and feelings and relationships.

Helping a shorter woman one day, when we schlepped wet clothes into a top dryer and water splashed on us, we teased, “This is why we got our master’s degrees?” Yes. Exactly.

We all need to be cleaned regularly, too — our attitudes and moodiness as well as our feet and hands. Washing is an everyday task for everybody, and everybody gets wet. And clean. And renewed. Yes. Exactly.

I wonder if Jesus, kneeling to wash feet, had second thoughts about what his service was for? I wonder if he got splashed and whether it renewed him for the task ahead? Washing and being washed being good for both parties? Reciprocal love? Yes. Exactly.

Prayer: Jesus, wash me in your mercy and love every day. Then, let me be a washer and a lover too. Amen.

Deaconess Diane Marten, Indianapolis, IN

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