Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then 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. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."  

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord - and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.  

When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

The first Holy Week after I was ordained, we introduced foot washing in the small congregation I served in northern Minnesota. Knowing that many in the congregation were terribly uncomfortable with the idea and likely would not participate, I had approached some of the liturgically more adventurous people on church council and asked them to be "volunteers." The way we set it up, each person would wash the feet of the person in line ahead of them, then sit down, hold their feet over the basin, and have their own feet washed by the person behind them.
 
As I knelt at the basin, washing the feet of our parish treasurer, I thought of what a privilege it was to serve her in this way. But then it was my turn. I turned around, and there standing behind me was Angelo. Angelo, or Angie as everyone called him, was a 93-year-old Italian Roman Catholic, and one of the gentlest and most beautiful souls I've ever met. His wife of 63 years had been a Lutheran, and even after her death, he continued to attend worship with us as well as in the Catholic parish in town. Sitting down in that chair and watching this beloved saint get down on his knees to wash my feet, I finally got it. I finally understood Peter's discomfort - and the discomfort that many people feel with foot washing. As Angie knelt there, pouring water over my feet and then tenderly drying them with a towel, I was profoundly moved, deeply humbled and extremely uncomfortable.
 
That, I think, is the point. Many of us think a lot about serving Jesus; foot washing forces us to think about letting Jesus serve us. Many of us believe that God's love is a free gift to people who don't deserve it; foot washing shows us just how undeserving we are. Many of us talk about how God loves us unconditionally; foot washing reminds us of just how intimate that love is. Like any deep and passionate love, God's love for us does indeed move us, humble us, and yes, even make us uncomfortable now and then.
 
Until Angie washed my feet, I thought part of my job was to make people comfortable with foot washing. After that moment, I understood that the best thing I can do is tell them that it makes me uncomfortable, too, and that's why I look forward to it every year.