Feet washing and see you laters.

Tonight was my last night in Denver before heading to Cincinnati for a bit and then off to Nicaragua. Leaving this place is really hard. I've been here for 7 months now, and the community that I have been apart of here has been the biggest blessing I ever could have asked for in this season of my life. I am so happy that tonight all that I had to do was say, "see you later." One part of this community that I have been blessed with is my fellowship group from church. Less than a year a go not a single person knew another person in our group that now meets every week. Tonight my good buddy Stu read an excerpt of a book that had impacted him, and that he wanted to share with our group. He read about Jesus washing the feet of his disciples the eve before he was crucified. The night that he had to say his 'see you later's.'

¹It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.^a]">² The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. - John 13:1-5

As soon as Stu started reading this my mind went straight to Nicaragua. Almost exactly a year ago I was on the edge of a volcanic lake with 60 high school kids who I barely knew and a middle age Nicaraguan bus driver who happened to be one of my best friends there. And the whole group of us were in tears, having just spent an hour in a slow procession of washing each others feet.

I don't cry too often, but that night I let loose. I think it was because it was one of those moments where I truly felt the beauty of what Jesus did for me. Jesus was so upside down about everything he did. The King of all, our Lord God, bore the ultimate humiliation through death on a cross. The night before, he told all of his disciples - people who would betray him and run from him - how much he loved them. And he told them by becoming a servant of all servants, the lowest of the low, and washing the dirt off of their feet. What a beautiful picture. What a beautiful truth.

In all matters I pray I can learn from the example of Christ. Tonight I pray for all of my friends in Denver, whom I love. You have served me and loved me since I arrived here; you have been the body of Christ in this present Kingdom of God. You have loved a stranger in an upside down way. I can't wait to see you again soon.