Kissing The Feet of Christ
In Church we have been doing a sermon series on the book of Ephesians in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. Today, Pastor Ira, gave one of his best sermons ever. He spoke of how the apostle Paul, at the end of chapter 1 and beginning of chapter 2. Mind you, when he wrote the letter, he did not have chapters in it. Anyway, Paul wants us to remember who we were before we accepted the gift of our salvation from Christ. Ira, explained that in order to accept the gift and understand how great that gift is, we need to fully understand what the condition of our souls were before we had accepted it. He used the example of a "sinful woman", possibly a prostitute or an adulteress, some scholars believe she may have been Mary Magdalene, washing Jesus' feet at the house of a pharisee named Simon (not Peter). The event is told by Luke in chapter 7 verses 36-41. You can read it yourself. But she washes his feet with her tears and dries them with her hair and then anoints them with expensive oil/perfume. During the process she kisses Jesus' feet. She knew how much she needed to be forgiven and how much she was forgiven. John the Baptist stated that he was not even worthy enough to touch the sandals of Christ. Think also what his feet must have been like. Roads were not paved. Camels, horses, mules, oxen, etc. dropping their waste wherever. The people who washed feet in a household were generally the lowest of the household slaves or servants but this woman was wealthy enough to buy expensive perfumed oil. Still, she knew who she was and what the condition of her soul was, regardless of her economic status.
So the question that this begs is "do I know and/or do I remember what Christ did for me and why? Are you kissing the feet of Christ? In order to kiss someones feet, you have to bend over, lower yourself in a very vulnerable position. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually vulnerable. I am not talking about false humility or kowtowing. That would never be acceptable to God. No I mean, setting aside any high image you may have of yourself, regardless of your station in life, and humbling yourself before God. You might ask,"How can I kiss the feet of Christ when He is no longer physically here?" It is not just the act but the heart behind the act. Obviously you cannot actually kiss the feet of Christ. When you remember what He did for you, even though you were and still are sinful and evil, and why he did it, and as a result are humbled to the point of lying prostrate on the ground, and so grateful that you would be willing to kiss the feet of Christ if they were present. Then, in essence, your as the "sinful woman." Why do we have to be reminded of this? Because we have an enemy and a sin nature that want us to forget!
This goes even further. The true humility that comes from this remembering, should allow us to treat others in the same manner. Christ showed us that as well in John 13. Should we have this attitude toward everyone? I think Christ was pretty clear about it in Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
So pucker up everyone! Right? No, not right. It is the heart of treating everyone as you would have treated Christ himself that is required. The kissing of feet is a reminder of who we are and what we have received. It is truly understanding that the sin of our lives makes us unworthy to even touch the sandals of Christ and yet He allowed the woman, He allows us, to kiss his feet. He did not ask for that nor require it. He never does. He does, however, want us to understand, why He had to forgive us and why we had to be forgiven. In that understanding, we can truly be able to humble ourselves to the point of kissing His feet. It does not end there either. In Psalms, David, states that God, is the lifter of our heads. In Matthew and Luke, Christ tells us that if we humble ourselves we will be exalted and James repeats this. Exalted. Our being lifted from the position of face down and kissing feet to being exalted is a great distance and God always keeps His promises.
One last challenge, beware of false humility. If you think God can't tell the difference, ignore everything I have written here.
So the question that this begs is "do I know and/or do I remember what Christ did for me and why? Are you kissing the feet of Christ? In order to kiss someones feet, you have to bend over, lower yourself in a very vulnerable position. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually vulnerable. I am not talking about false humility or kowtowing. That would never be acceptable to God. No I mean, setting aside any high image you may have of yourself, regardless of your station in life, and humbling yourself before God. You might ask,"How can I kiss the feet of Christ when He is no longer physically here?" It is not just the act but the heart behind the act. Obviously you cannot actually kiss the feet of Christ. When you remember what He did for you, even though you were and still are sinful and evil, and why he did it, and as a result are humbled to the point of lying prostrate on the ground, and so grateful that you would be willing to kiss the feet of Christ if they were present. Then, in essence, your as the "sinful woman." Why do we have to be reminded of this? Because we have an enemy and a sin nature that want us to forget!
This goes even further. The true humility that comes from this remembering, should allow us to treat others in the same manner. Christ showed us that as well in John 13. Should we have this attitude toward everyone? I think Christ was pretty clear about it in Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
So pucker up everyone! Right? No, not right. It is the heart of treating everyone as you would have treated Christ himself that is required. The kissing of feet is a reminder of who we are and what we have received. It is truly understanding that the sin of our lives makes us unworthy to even touch the sandals of Christ and yet He allowed the woman, He allows us, to kiss his feet. He did not ask for that nor require it. He never does. He does, however, want us to understand, why He had to forgive us and why we had to be forgiven. In that understanding, we can truly be able to humble ourselves to the point of kissing His feet. It does not end there either. In Psalms, David, states that God, is the lifter of our heads. In Matthew and Luke, Christ tells us that if we humble ourselves we will be exalted and James repeats this. Exalted. Our being lifted from the position of face down and kissing feet to being exalted is a great distance and God always keeps His promises.
One last challenge, beware of false humility. If you think God can't tell the difference, ignore everything I have written here.
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