A shoe shine from the bishop

From the BBC:

Bishops are getting down on their knees this Maundy Thursday to shine the shoes of office workers and shoppers in towns and cities across the country. The free act is inspired by the night of the Last Supper when Jesus washed his disciples' feet before his trial and crucifixion on Good Friday.

Bishop of Birmingham the Rt Revd David Urquhart said it showed the clergy were prepared to serve their communities.

Church figures in Northampton, Coventry and Leicester are also taking part.

Read it all.

Generally we are in favor of innovative means of taking the church's message and practices into the streets. But physical intimacy is an essential ingredient in the the foot-washing ceremony, and that's lost here.

Posted by Jim Naughton on March 20, 2008 11:30 AM | |
Comments (4)

Oh, I don't know, Jim. I think you need to meet people where they are. If the idea is to reach the unchurched they're probably not ready for foot washing intimacy. And this isn't part of the Maundy Thursday service, it's a tie-in signal of readiness to serve the community. (Otherwise known as marketing on a shoestring.)

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | March 20, 2008 1:05 PM

I like it partly because it restores the class/social standing confusion of footwashing. In Jesus' day, rabbis didn't wash feet--the lowest of the servants did. Likewise in our world, the rich don't shine other people's shoes...

Posted by Derek Olsen [TypeKey Profile Page] | March 20, 2008 3:23 PM

I guess you guys have a point, but for me, the experience becomes merely symbolic--rather than sacramental--if you subtract the feeling of water on flesh and the touch of hand to foot.

Posted by Jim Naughton [TypeKey Profile Page] | March 20, 2008 3:30 PM

For pictures of religious leaders washing the feet of immigrant low wage workers, take a look here. This seemed profoundly right to me (though it didn't actually happen on Maundy Thursday.)

Jan Adams

Posted by janinsanfran [TypeKey Profile Page] | March 20, 2008 3:40 PM

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