Foot washing: symbol/gesture of free love

The life and teachings of Jesus Christ are marked by profound gratitude and unconditional love. Through his actions, gestures and words, He shows us the path to a full and meaningful life, based on selfless service to others and the construction of a fraternal community.

The gospels present us with countless examples of Jesus’ active gratuitousness. He healed the sick, fed the hungry crowds and welcomed the marginalized, without demanding anything in return and without discriminating against anyone. His miracles helped those most in need and showed signs of what would be his Kingdom, the Kingdom of free love, where everyone was brothers and adopted children of the same Father, the Father of Jesus himself.

One of the most emblematic and touching moments in the life of Jesus is the scene of the washing of feet, during the last supper. In this episode, Jesus takes on the role of servant and washes the feet of his disciples, making it clear its greatest lesson: love as a free service for the good of others, for the good of the fraternal community, for the construction of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Love in fullness!

By washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus breaks with the hierarchies and social conventions of the time, showing that the true leader is the one who serves, who puts himself in someone else’s shoes and acts with humility and compassion. He teaches us that we must be willing to serve one another regardless of our position or social status.

But Jesus’ teaching goes beyond the symbolic gesture of washing the feet. During the same supper, He announces the commandment of free love, which completes and deepens the meaning of the previous lesson. Jesus invites us to love one another just as He loved us, with total gratuitousness, giving our lives for our friends and brothers.

It is important to highlight the novelty of this commandment: there is no explicit reference to the love of God or to “loving your neighbor as yourself”. The measure of love here is the way Jesus loved, with total and disinterested dedication. And Jesus loved as his Father loved him, thus revealing the essence of God himself.

To love as Jesus loved, we need the participation of his Spirit of love in us. “To love you as you love me, I would need your own love” – wrote Thérèse of Lisieux in her Manuscript A. “God is love: he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4 , 16). And Paul, in the letter to the Romans, adds: “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us” (Rm 5:5).

Therefore, the washing of feet and the commandment of free love reveal to us the essence of Jesus’ teaching and invite us to a life of service and giving to others. By following Christ’s example and allowing his Spirit of love to dwell within us, we will be able to build a fraternal community, based on gratitude, compassion and mutual care.

On the other hand, we live in a society marked by individualism, competitiveness and the incessant search for success and personal recognition. In this context, Jesus’ call to free love and selfless service may seem utopian or even naive. However, it is precisely in this world so lacking in compassion and solidarity that Christian witness becomes more necessary and urgent.

Loving freely means going beyond our personal interests and our comfort zones. It means being attentive to the needs of others, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized, and taking concrete action to alleviate them. It means giving up privileges and status in the name of equality and fraternity. It means forgiving offenses, welcoming those who are different and building bridges of dialogue and cooperation.

All of this may seem very difficult and even impossible, but it is exactly to this life of love and service that Jesus calls us and offers his Full Love. He does not ask us for anything that He himself has not experienced and witnessed. On the contrary, He gives us His own example and the strength of His loving Spirit so that we can follow Him on the path of gratuitousness and self-giving.

Therefore, Jesus’ call to free love is not a distant utopia, but a concrete and current invitation to transform our lives and the world around us. Every gesture of compassion, every attitude of service to those most in need, every word of welcome and forgiveness, no matter how small, is a seed of the Kingdom of God that germinates and bears fruit, building a more just, fraternal and supportive society.

May the example of Jesus in the Washing of Feet, a symbol/gesture of his commandment of free Love, inspire and strengthen us on this path of donation and service. May we, with God’s grace, witness the joy and beauty of a life guided by gratuitousness, unconditional love and the construction here of a more human and fraternal world in the search for the Kingdom of Free Love!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

José Nazareno Cardeal Fonteles has a degree in Medicine and Mathematics. He completed a medical residency in Orthopedics and Traumatology and a master’s degree in Mathematics. He worked as an orthopedist at HGV, Casamater and the Cot and Copil clinics. He is a retired professor from UFPI. He served as councilor, state deputy and federal deputy. He founded and chaired the Parliamentary Front for Food and Nutritional Security of the National Congress for seven years. He was health secretary of Piauí. He participates in the management of the educational group CEV. He is married to Nereida, father of Deborah, Danielle and Rafael and grandfather of seven grandchildren. He has faith in Jesus of Nazareth, the Master of Free Love.

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