 |
| Image by Safa Hovinen |
†
Feet
A GREETING
My steps are set firmly on your paths;
my feet haven’t slipped.
(Psalm 17:5)
A READING
Jesus moved on from there along the shore of the Galilee Sea. He went up a mountain and sat down. Large crowds came to him, including those who were paralyzed, blind, injured, and unable to speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them.
(Matthew 15:29-30)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Your word is a lamp before my feet
and a light for my journey.
(Psalm 119:105)
A POEM
At the feet o' Jesus,
Sorrow like a sea.
Lordy, let yo' mercy
Come driftin' down on me.
At the feet o' Jesus
At yo' feet I stand.
O, ma little Jesus,
Please reach out yo' hand.
- "Feet o' Jesus," by Langston Hughes
VERSE OF THE DAY
You have saved my life from death,
saved my feet from stumbling
so that I can walk before God in the light of life.
(Psalm 56:13)
†
 |
| "Shelter," by Laura Makabresku (2021). (Click to enlarge) Makabresku is a Polish Catholic artist whose work engages biblical story alongside the material realities of her own life. This combination she calls a "mystical realism." Though all of her painting is spiritual, she sometimes paints Jesus with wild creatures. These creatures seem to be drawn to him not just for respite, but as if to dwell with him. The marks of stigmata on the hands and feet are present and also subtle, not pulling focus. Quite often Makabresku features the body of Jesus without the face - making the shelter of Jesus as much about his human body as his divine nature. |
The feet of Jesus and his friends participate in some of the most important stories of Holy Week, when Jesus's feet are anointed and when he bathes the feet of his friends on the night of his arrest.
But long before then, the feet of Jesus represented a place of accessible holiness for those who wanted to meet him. As he walked the roads of the Galilee, Samaria, the coastal area at Capernaum, and in Jerusalem and surrounding regions, he met people where they were, in the midst of their lives and work. His feet crossed geopolitical lines, went into valleys, entered homes.
In the Roman era, to crush an enemy was to trample them underfoot. But as Jesus' teaching grew in popularity and his gifts became known, he embodied a contrasting image of seeking to enliven all whom he encountered. In building the kindom, Jesus' ministry of walking from place to place meant that his feet shared dust with those on the margins, with the outcasts and the ones who lived with disease. His ministry began from the ground up.
Good hospitality in the Jesus era meant that each guest had their feet washed upon arrival into a home. It happened right away, before anything else. This is why Jesus will later tell the disciples that if they feel they are not welcome somewhere "shake the dust from your feet" and move on. They would know they were not welcomed, because their feet would still be dirty.
Jesus brings the kindom of God literally down to earth. The one who became human and lived among people walked alongside people of all kinds and was a friend to animals. What does it mean to you to walk your faith? How will your feet help you bring your prayers into action today?
†
 |
| "In His Wounds," by Laura Makabresku (2020). In this image, made earlier than the one above, the birds are drawn to the wounds in a way that appears almost nurturing. |
†
Scripture passages are taken from The Common English Bible.
†
LC† From Dust, Still Holy is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!