A poem by David Denoon
Not many people write of Jesus kneeling
Not to pray, or perhaps to pray,
But to wash
To bear the water and the pour
Stripped to the waist as he will be again
All too soon
This time, though, because
This is what the servant does
To wash the feet
One bends
One kneels
Half-naked before the splash and the mess,
A day’s walking is a filthy thing.
Not many people accept Jesus kneeling
Not to pray, or perhaps to pray,
But to wash
Peter, yes, but Judas too –
Neither understanding servanthood,
Leadership –
Disquieted by troubled water
Disoriented by him
Down on his knees
Both stop
Both stare
Disrobed themselves, but not obviously,
Denial and betrayal hidden.
Not many people recall Jesus kneeling
Not to pray, or perhaps to pray,
But to wash
The basin’s clouding contents show
No Savior, no, instead a woman bowed
Flask of nard
Her hair uncovered
Immodestly wiping his feet
Not six days past
Once there
Once here
She clothed the moment in adoration
Disquieting parallels, the two.
