LBW #122, stanza 2, “Love Consecrates the Humblest Act”
Devotion
When in the shadow of the cross Christ knelt and washed the feet
Of his disciples, he gave us a sign of love complete.
If you want “a sign of love complete” for the world for which Christ gave his life, look to what he did “in the shadow of the cross.” He “knelt and washed the feet of his disciples.” On this, the first of the three most important days in the church’s calendar, the church enacts this sign in its worship. On this and all days it seeks to carry that sign into the world and to enact it there. On this day it also remembers the meal Christ instituted on the night he was betrayed, and it leans forward into the darkness of crucifixion and death.
Prayer
Lord, “help all who long for light to hold [your] hand of promise and walk into the night” (Brian Wren, Faith Looking Forward, #19). Amen.