I like to watch the television news, to try and keep up with what is happening in the world.
Recently there were reports of the meeting in Moscow of President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China; we were shown the two men in a carefully choreographed approach to each other in a vast and grand hall of the Kremlin; an attempt to emphasise their power and prestige, as a mark of their importance and greatness.
I was struck by the contrast as to what Christians see as greatness. Soon we will be remembering the final days of the life of Jesus, including his final meal with his close followers.
At that meal Jesus washed the feet of his followers, he took on the most menial of servile tasks, to wash the grimy feet of his disciples. As their teacher, protocol demanded they wash his feet but in spite of protests he took on the role of the servant.
It was an example of humble service and one that demonstrated how humble service was soon to accomplish something else. A cleansing of dirt by water: a cleansing of sin by sacrificial death.
The difference is that to keep dirt at bay we may need to shower or bath each day but through faith in Jesus and his death for us we are cleansed once and for all.
The scene of the bowl and towel also shows us how our lives should be lived; in humble service of others. In that there is true greatness; not, in grandiose ceremonies in grand buildings.
The Revd Robert Barthram is minister of the Reading Group, United Reformed Church, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Reading
