Sacraments (from the Latin sacre or sacred) are defined by the catechism as "outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace." (BCP pg. 857). Helpful, huh? In simpler terms, this means that God takes ordinary physical things – bread, wine, water, hands- and uses them to impart God's abiding presence and power. Thus invisible realities are transmitted through visible means.

As Reformed Catholics, we Anglicans/Episcopalians count seven sacraments: two chief sacraments which were ordained or instituted by Christ himself and five lesser sacraments instituted by the Church. The chief sacrament is the sacrament of baptism by which we are initiated into the Body of Christ. Christ ordained this sacrament by his participation in John's baptism and the Great Commission to his followers after his death to "go to all nations and make disciples; baptize them, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…." (Matthew 28:19)

The other Christ-created sacrament is Holy Communion. Jesus, at a Passover meal, took bread and wine and said: "This is my body…this is my blood" and then uttered this command: "Do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19)

The inward and spiritual grace imparted by water baptism is the indwelling spirit of God which sanctifies us (makes us holy) and creates within us the possibility of becoming fully alive. The inward and spiritual grace imparted by the bread and wine of Holy Communion is the Real Presence of Christ under the "veil" of mundane bread and ordinary wine. How Christ is present in these things is a mystery. We only know that he said he would be. Unlike the Latin Catholics of a generation ago, we do not claim that the bread and wine are physically changed into real flesh and real blood (transubstantiation) nor do we believe with the extreme Protestants that this is merely a "memorial rite" or re-enactment of the Last Supper. We believe that Christ is mysteriously and really present and in sharing this meal, we are re-membered (made a member again) with him. (As the consecration prayer we use from the Iona Community on Wednesdays says it: we become "bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh, loving and caring in the world.")

In addition to these Christ-created and mandated sacraments, the Church has instituted five ordinances or sacramental rites. They are: penance (or confession), unction (anointing with oil for healing), confirmation (to "make firm" the vows of infant or childhood baptism as adults), ordination (the making of deacons, priests and bishops), and holy matrimony (marriage). These so-called lesser sacramental rites are not necessary for our saving in the same way as the ordinances of Christ (baptism and communion) are but they are powerful means of grace in their own right and they "sustain our present hope." (For more, see the Catechism in the BCP pg. 859-861).

I share this rather lengthy exploration of the sacraments as background to raise the question of whether or not we should understand foot washing to have been intended by Christ as a sacrament in the same way that baptism and Holy Communion are. (That's, to be sure, a provocative way to say it. What can be said is that Jesus took everyday rituals his disciples were familiar with and gave them a new meaning and in repeating these actions, they drew near to Christ and Christ nearer to them.)

But consider this: in the Gospel of John, there is no mention –unlike the earlier three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke – of the institution of the Holy Communion. There is only a mention of the "festival of the Passover" in John 13, but no meal scene and dialogue. Scholars have pondered this striking fact. Some have suggested that in writing so late in the first century (circa 90-95 C.E.), the practice of disciples' sharing Holy Communion – and the historical and biblical foundation for it in the other three gospels and in the letters of Paul – were well known and established and thus John choose to emphasize an event less well known but powerful in its telling: the washing of the disciple's feet by Jesus.

In the ancient world, it was a custom of necessity to wash the feet of those who came to supper. The roads were not paved and were shared by humans and animals alike (think: caravans of traders) and so guests arrived dusty and soiled from their journey. The poor, including Jesus' disciples, had no shoes. Indeed, Jesus even admonished his followers to go on their missionary journey barefoot as slaves (see Matthew 10:9-10). And so, because people ate their meals reclining on low cushions around a common table, another guest's feet would be next to your face and your feet above another's head. (Sit with that image for a moment.)

Additionally, far from simply being practical, the washing of the feet of one's guests was a way of honoring that person.

On one occasion, Jesus goes to the house of a Pharisee (a religious leader) named Simon and is intentionally not offered the respect or care due him as a guest in the home. A sinful women (a forgiven adulterer? prostitute?), in gratitude, weeps tears of joy while kneeling at Jesus' feet and then wipes his feet with her hair. Simon is offended by this very public display of affection and Jesus says to Simon: "I came into your house but you provided no water to wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. There was no warmth in your greeting..." (Luke 7:44-45). And so, the washing of one's guest's feet was not simply a mechanical necessity but also an act of hospitality and kindness. (For examples of this in the Hebrew Scriptures, see the stories of Abraham washing the feet of guests who turned out to be angelic messengers in Genesis 18:4 and 19:2).

In the story which replaces the Last Supper in John, Jesus offers to wash his disciple's feet. This action would have been performed by the lowest slave in the household or, if the family was too poor to own a slave, by the wife of the house. In this fictive family of disciples, the task would have fallen to the youngest disciple: John. But Jesus surprises his friends. After supper he:

"...rose from the supper table, took off his outer clothes, picked up a towel and fastened it round his waist. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel around his waist. So he came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" "You do not realize now what I am doing," replied Jesus, "but later on you will understand." Then Peter said to him, "You must never wash my feet!" "Unless you let me wash you, Peter," replied Jesus, "you cannot share my lot." "Then," returned Simon Peter, "Please – not just my feet but my hands and my face as well!" ...When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his clothes, he sat down again and spoke to them, "Do you realize what I have just done to you? You call me ‘teacher' and ‘Lord' and you are quite right, for I am your teacher and your Lord. But if I, your teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, you must be ready to wash one another's feet. I have given you this as an example so that you may do as I have done. Believe me, the servant is not greater than his master and the messenger is not greater than the (one) who sent him. Once you have realized these things, you will find your happiness in doing them." (John 13: 4-17)

Is foot washing then sacramental?

The language Jesus uses certainly sound like a mandate: "You are to do as I have done for you"; in the same way that "Do this to remember me" and "Go and make disciples and baptize them…" is. In this action, Jesus has taken the common everyday action of foot washing which uses mundane and ordinary matter (water and towels and human hands) and transformed it into a powerful metaphor of humble service, hospitality and mutual respect. ("I have set you an example…a servant is not greater than his master... If you know this, happy are you if you act upon it.") Finally, foot washing is a means of grace – a way to come into the presence of Christ and for Christ to draw near to us – because in so doing, when we wash the feet of our fellow disciples, we learn what it means to serve as Christ served and it is a means of grace when we receive the washing because in so doing, we experience anew the humility of Christ serving us through the service of another.

The washing of feet continued in the early Church. For example, in the Epistles we find that in order to be enrolled on the list of widows (widows and orphans especially received the charity of the first century disciples), the widows were expected to wash feet:

"An enrolled widow must have been the wife of one husband and must have gained a reputation for good deeds, by taking care of children, by showing hospitality, by washing the feet of God's people, by supporting those in distress..." (I Timothy 5:9-10)

We find mention of the washing of feet in the writings of the Church Fathers, including our Patron, St. Augustine. In discussing the practice of foot washing, he writes:

"And wherever such is not the practice among the saints, what they do not with the hand, they do in heart…But it is far better, and beyond all dispute more accordant with the truth, that it should also be done with the hands; nor should the Christian think it beneath him to do what was done by Christ. For when the body is bent at a brother's feet, the feeling of such humility is either awakened in the heart itself, or is strengthened if already present." (From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, v. 7)

In several churches, the practice became connected with the Rite of Holy Baptism. This was true in the churches of Germany, Milan, northern Italy, parts of Africa and in Celtic Ireland.

For monastics, the Benedictine Rule prescribed feet washing as a form of hospitality for guests as well as enjoining communal foot washing for humility within the order (St. Benedict's Rule, 529 C.E.)

The connection with Maundy Thursday also has long antecedents, dating from 7th century Spain and from the 12 century, when "the Pope washed the feet of 12 sub deacons after his Mass and 13 poor men after his dinner." (Catholic Encyclopedia).

For Protestants, foot washing was restored by those groups which sought to recreate the faith and practice of the apostolic church.

And for us Anglicans, the practice was restored as an optional practice for use on Maundy Thursday following the liturgical renewal movement of the 1970's.

We have offered foot washing here at St. Augustine's off and on over the years. In some years, we have joined with St. Paul's Lutheran Church in a joint celebration of Maundy Thursday. (My fondest memory is of our Bishop, Fred Borsch, taking up a towel and basin and kneeling down to wash someone's feet one year. Intellectually, we know that "God is no respecter of persons" but as a Church, we are a hierarchical people. Seeing a Bishop humble himself in sharing in this simple and yet profound ceremony, echoed for me the humility and yet shock of Jesus doing this for his followers – and yes, we would expect no less of our friend Fred and yet it was deeply moving.)

The choice to participate in any sacrament is highly personal. God does not love us any less if we choose not to do so nor does he love us more when we do. But like all sacramental acts, the washing of feet is an opportunity, an invitation, to come into Christ's presence through ministering to, and being ministered by, our fellow disciples with ordinary and mundane physical things like water and towels and hands. In this, the invisible humility of Christ becomes manifest to us again.

Editors' Note: Following are two articles about the Foot washing ceremony from two very different perspectives. May they inform you in your own discernment about this option for you on Holy Thursday this year. The Maundy Thursday Liturgy will be offered on Thursday, April 9th at 7:30 p.m.