Washing Of The Feet

Last night, I played a minor role in a Lenten ritual. I was chosen to play an apostle in the washing of the feet.

The story starts like this. I dropped by the Jacinto campus of Ateneo de Davao University after I received a text message from Rommel (a brother in Lingkod ng Panginoon) that the Jesuits were hearing confessions. As I passed by the mini-auditorium/chapel, a college girl approached me to ask for my autograph. 

However, that fantasy was short-lived because she asked instead if I was willing to be part of the twelve apostles for that day's mass. She also mentioned the washing of the feet. At first, I declined for a number of reasons: my feet smell from too much walking, I haven't had a pedicure in awhile, and I don't think I've cut my toenails recently. After a few minutes or so, she finally convinced me because, first, she was cute, and, second, she was acting desperate ( she'd later say I was only the fifth volunteer and she had less than an hour to look for the remaining seven guys).

So I was given a sash and heard an inside joke from among the other volunteers asking who among us was Judas. 

When it was time for the ritual, we were seated in one line in front of the congregation and the priest began washing our feet. When it was my turn, I observed that he only washed the right foot. After which, he kissed the foot after drying it with a towel. Whoa.

I pretty much imagined then what the priest could have been thinking afterwards. He just kissed the feet of twelve guys! Even Jesus Christ, according to the gospel, wasn't that hardcore. But then again, if he was trying to drive home the point of it all, he nailed it with that gesture.

Earlier today, my mother shared a story told by a priest about his experience in a barangay. For this Lenten ritual, each household would bring a palangana or a big washing plastic bowl. During the washing, each father then would wash his children's feet and his wife's. It was a gesture that pretty much hammered home the responsibility the father should possess as the head of the family. 

Overall, it was a strange yet, ironically, humbling experience. I'm humbled because it forced me to think again of the many misconceptions of leadership I've unconsciously adopted through the years. 

In the midst of the many gurus, articles, and ideas surrounding leadership, it's quite a reality check for me to compare what I know to what the gospel says about being a servant-leader.

Now, if only the priest had washed the other foot...