COVERED BY A BAND-AID
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: JOHN 13:4-5
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.
COVERED BY A BAND-AID
Yes, this Mary's Moment will show my age, but here goes anyway -- I remember, when I was in high school, the teachers and adults were upset with turned up collars. And we constantly heard, "Tuck that shirt tail in." The boys used tons of grease to keep their hair in place and the girls slept on curlers. If you didn't sleep on curlers, your arms fell off from making pin curls and using bobby pins to hold them in place until your hair dried. Of course, it took so long to roll those curls you had to keep wetting your hair. And resting your arms. With your hair in rollers or pin curls, you absolutely refused to be seen in public. If your mother said, "Go to the store now." you put a scarf over your head and prayed you would not run into anyone over the age of two.
Oh, how times have changed. Now I am the one saying, "Why in the world would they dress like that? Don't they get tired of holding their pants up so they can walk? And do those boys really think their underwear showing is sexy?" Or I look at girls and think, "My gosh, are you leaving no surprises for the bedroom? Do you really think that tattoo is going to look good when those girls start to sag? How do you eat with that thing stuck in your tongue?"
It is true. I have become my mother! But I realize, after our discussion in Sunday School class, that this generation is trying to get attention just as my generation did.
One comment was made about a UPS driver who had a band-aid over his eyebrow. When asked about his injury the driver said, "Oh, I have an eyebrow ring and I am not supposed to have any piercings, so I cover it up with a band-aid."
It was time to end class and I was wondering how to tie this into our lesson. (Our class does get off the lesson sometimes. Okay, quite regularly.) When this comment was made, I thought, "Wow God. Just the lead in I needed to make a closing point."
You see, our lesson had been on Jesus as a servant. How he washed the feet of the disciples. How he cleans us. I may not have tattoos or any piercing other than one in each ear lobe, but my body is marked. Marked by my mistakes. I try to cover my temper, my trying to do it myself and my questioning instead of trusting. But God can see beneath the band-aid. God sees what part of my body needs cleansed and then he takes off his outer robe, ties a towel around himself, pours water into a basin and begins to clean.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY
What areas of your life are you trying to cover with a band-aid? How would you feel if you looked up and Jesus stood there with a basin of water and a towel?
Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.
LET US PRAY
Dear Servant Jesus, It is so hard for me to picture you as a servant. On your knees washing dirty feet. Would I have been like Peter and said, "you shall never wash my feet." Or would I have quietly allowed you to cleanse me. Servant Jesus, remove my band-aids and wash me with your healing water. …… Amen
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: JOHN 13:4-5
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.
COVERED BY A BAND-AID
Yes, this Mary's Moment will show my age, but here goes anyway -- I remember, when I was in high school, the teachers and adults were upset with turned up collars. And we constantly heard, "Tuck that shirt tail in." The boys used tons of grease to keep their hair in place and the girls slept on curlers. If you didn't sleep on curlers, your arms fell off from making pin curls and using bobby pins to hold them in place until your hair dried. Of course, it took so long to roll those curls you had to keep wetting your hair. And resting your arms. With your hair in rollers or pin curls, you absolutely refused to be seen in public. If your mother said, "Go to the store now." you put a scarf over your head and prayed you would not run into anyone over the age of two.
Oh, how times have changed. Now I am the one saying, "Why in the world would they dress like that? Don't they get tired of holding their pants up so they can walk? And do those boys really think their underwear showing is sexy?" Or I look at girls and think, "My gosh, are you leaving no surprises for the bedroom? Do you really think that tattoo is going to look good when those girls start to sag? How do you eat with that thing stuck in your tongue?"
It is true. I have become my mother! But I realize, after our discussion in Sunday School class, that this generation is trying to get attention just as my generation did.
One comment was made about a UPS driver who had a band-aid over his eyebrow. When asked about his injury the driver said, "Oh, I have an eyebrow ring and I am not supposed to have any piercings, so I cover it up with a band-aid."
It was time to end class and I was wondering how to tie this into our lesson. (Our class does get off the lesson sometimes. Okay, quite regularly.) When this comment was made, I thought, "Wow God. Just the lead in I needed to make a closing point."
You see, our lesson had been on Jesus as a servant. How he washed the feet of the disciples. How he cleans us. I may not have tattoos or any piercing other than one in each ear lobe, but my body is marked. Marked by my mistakes. I try to cover my temper, my trying to do it myself and my questioning instead of trusting. But God can see beneath the band-aid. God sees what part of my body needs cleansed and then he takes off his outer robe, ties a towel around himself, pours water into a basin and begins to clean.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY
What areas of your life are you trying to cover with a band-aid? How would you feel if you looked up and Jesus stood there with a basin of water and a towel?
Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.
LET US PRAY
Dear Servant Jesus, It is so hard for me to picture you as a servant. On your knees washing dirty feet. Would I have been like Peter and said, "you shall never wash my feet." Or would I have quietly allowed you to cleanse me. Servant Jesus, remove my band-aids and wash me with your healing water. …… Amen
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