Wednesday December 5, 2018

 

Christmas is not a story about fairness, quite the contrary; Christmas is a story about God’s grace. I say quite the contrary because whenever fairness is present there can be no grace and whenever grace is present there can be no fairness. Grace is not something you can buy or work to earn. If you could buy or earn it then it would not be grace.

 

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After 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 13:3-5 NIV

 

It is difficult to imagine Jesus, the Son of God washing the feet of his disciples; there is something completely unfair about this image. But that is precisely what we find Jesus doing in the Book of John when the truth is the disciples should have been washing Jesus’ feet. However, when Jesus was removing his clothing and wrapping a towel around his waist the disciples did nothing. While Jesus was pouring water into a basin the disciples more than likely argued about which one of them was the best disciple.

 

It is not fair that Jesus, knowing that he was going to be crucified in the morning would be washing feet that night. It is not fair that the same disciples whose feet Jesus washed would all abandon him. It is not fair that Jesus washed Peter’s feet knowing that the next day, Peter would deny him. And it is certainly not fair that Jesus washed Judas’ dirty feet knowing that within hours Judas would betray him. As I read the story, I would like to say, “Jesus it is not fair, do not wash their feet, the do not deserve it.” But that is precisely what the Christmas story is all about, an unmerited and undeserved gift, not fairness rather grace.

 

What blows the mind is that you and I are also recipients of that same grace. You and I are a big part of this story but there is a big difference. Jesus washed the disciple’s feet from the filth and dirt they had accumulated from the roads they traveled. In our case, he washed our souls from the filth and dirt that we have accumulated because of the sinful paths we chose to travel. Praise be to God that his gift to us is not fairness because we would all be doomed; his gift to us is grace.

 

Christmas is the story about God’s grace and it is a reminder that Jesus had to be treated unjustly and unfairly, sentenced to die on a cross to give us the unmerited and un-earnable gift of grace. On Christmas Day, God have us what we desperately needed but could never purchase or earn, grace.