It is interesting how we assign honor. Sometimes, it’s obviously well deserved. We honor our service men and women. We honor fire fighters and teachers. There’s an obvious element of deserving honor there.

     But lots of times, our honor and praise is arbitrary. We just decide what’s honorable and what’s not. We honor football players with huge salaries and hours of our life watching them, even though all they’re doing is playing a game. The NFL is no different from people playing video games. It’s all a game. But we choose to honor one more than the other.

     We do the same thing with serving in God’s kingdom. We honor certain roles because they’re up front or “flashy”, even though it’s all just serving God. We honor speakers and musicians, while we forget about the person wrestling kids in the nursery. This is wrong. In fact, it’s backwards.

     On the last night Jesus spent with his disciples, before his crucifixion, Jesus chose to serve them in a unique way. And the way he chose to serve them was one of the least honorable and most humiliating ways possible. He took the role of a slave, a servant, and he washed their feet. Rabbis didn’t do that. Great teachers and leaders didn’t do that. They did the honorable stuff, like preach God’s Word and inspire people to follow them. They didn’t get down on their hands and knees and wash 1st century feet. But Jesus did. Then he said this…

     John 13:12-15, “12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”

     Jesus chose to serve in a way that was the least honorable to make a point: in his kingdom, it all matters. Those bending over backwards to serve their church, those on their hands and knees in the sanctuary or those who show up early to make us coffee, those people deserve recognition and honor. That’s what Jesus did. He took those roles and then he said, “And you go do that.”

     Thank you so much for following in the footsteps of our savior Jesus. I hope, at our church, you feel honored. Serving, saying, “I’ll help this Sunday in whatever way I can,” is the most honorable thing you can do. Thank you!