Washing of the Feet/Hands Jean Vanier Memorial Service, Christchurch (8 June, 2019)

Thank you for that reading Nellie and Silke, and for the silent foot-washing, Karen and Mary. My name’s Candice Wilson, and I’ve been the Community Leader of L’Arche Kapiti for 5 years now. Before that, I was in L’Arche in Canada, and in all three of the L’Arche communities I’ve been a part of, the foot-washing ceremony during Passover has been a very special, sacred event…the highlight of the year for many, including myself. And indeed, foot-washing is regarded as a sacrament in L’Arche and Faith and Light communities around the world.

Why Jean valued it so much:
Why did Jean value it so much? Jean loved how Jesus often turned things upside down…the last will be first and the first will be last…He upended social norms and did many socially embarrassing and awkward things, like hanging out and eating with those on the margins of society, and even going so far as to say that the weak ones…the ones despised, the cast-offs, the sinners, would be entering the kingdom of heaven before the religious elite. And that made people hopping mad! And foot-washing was no different. Jesus turned it all upside down when he took off the outer robe, knelt down and washed his disciples’ feet. It was the way of service…the way of humility…of lifting up another instead of oneself. By all accounts, Jesus, as the master rabbi—the famous itinerant preacher—should have been having his feet washed, but he wanted to model that in the kingdom of heaven, the greatest among you, is the servant of all. A new order prevails in that realm, and Jesus pointed to it not only through his words but through his actions. Jean Vanier valued foot-washing so much because Jesus did, and he always sought to be a humble follower of Jesus in his life. He also knew that foot-washing can unite in ways that even the Eucharist cannot. In diverse groups where some may feel excluded from the communion table, in foot-washing, all are welcome and can come as they are.

In the stirrings of his heart to get closer to Jesus, Jean left a prestigious life, a life of esteem and full of accolades ….He was a professor of philosophy at St. Michael’s College (University of Toronto). He was a former naval officer. By all accounts, he had “made it” in the eyes of the world. Yet, again and again, he was called back by the still, small voice of Jesus… He knew that real strength and spiritual growth was in going down the ladder, not up it. And that real wisdom was in letting those society sees as different, as cast-offs, as “other”…..be our teachers and guides. Jean chose to pitch his tent with those with intellectual disability and never looked back. Many may have such stirrings in their heart as Jean had, but I think very few act on them. Why is that? Because it’s hard perhaps to go against the grain of expectations and social norms, to seek out “the other” in our midst, and realize that God is with them and in them as well. It takes courage. To paraphrase the Robert Frost poem, Jean took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.

The importance of touch:
In 1998, Jean was giving a retreat in London, to a group of Anglican bishops, and during that retreat, he spoke of the importance of touch in foot-washing. He described a young man that he lived with for a time, a 16 year old named Eric. Eric, who was deaf, blind, couldn’t walk or feed himself, had been in a psychiatric hospital for 12 years. Vanier said that for this young man, full of anguish and pain, a man who seemingly wanted to die, daily touch became a lifesaver, especially with few other senses to take in his world. The washing of the feet in particular, was a way for Eric to feel human connectedness, to be shown his worth and value. To have his feet washed gently, tenderly and carefully was to say: “I see you. You’re not alone. You matter…every part of you matters and is deserving of care and attention.” Vanier said he wanted his hands to be Jesus’ hands for Eric. And how much more is simple human touch needed today, for everyone! With us all plugged in and tuned into our devices and screens, how much more important is the practice of human touch!

One who rarely had been touched at all in his life was Joseph Merrick, one many of you will know of as “The Elephant Man.” Anthropologist Ashley Montagu chronicles what is known about the life of Joseph Carey Merrick—in his book, A Study in Human Dignity (1971). Merrick lived from 1862 until 1890 and suffered from a rare disorder that assaulted his skin and disfigured his bones to such an extent that he became the unfortunate show stopper of various traveling circuses. It was Frederick Treves, a surgeon at the London Hospital, who saved Merrick from this existence and found him a home in a quiet, secluded apartment adjacent to the London Hospital where he could be left in peace yet receive adequate medical treatment. The following is an excerpt from Treve’s account of Merrick’s life in the apartment; it emphasizes the importance of genuine humane interactions and touch.

He was looked after by volunteer nurses whose ministrations where somewhat formal and constrained. Merrick, no doubt, was conscious that their service was purely official, that they were merely doing what they were told to do…They did not help him to feel that he was of their kind. On the contrary, they, without knowing it, made him aware that the gulf of separation was immeasurable. Feeling this, I asked a friend of mine, a young and pretty widow, if she thought she could enter Merrick’s room with a smile, wish him good morning and shake him by the hand. She said she could, and she did.

The effect upon poor Merrick was not quite what I had expected. As he let go
of her hand, he bent his head on his knees and sobbed until I thought he would never cease. He told me afterwards that this was the first woman who had ever smiled at him, and the first woman, in the whole of his life, who had shaken hands with him.

That is the power and healing nature of touch.

Additional reading

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