Do You Need Help?

It struck me the other day that Jesus had no experience of growing physically old as we do. He died in the prime of His life and not in the frailty of old age. However, reading this verse in John’s gospel, it’s clear that Jesus came to realise that His life was in its last brief chapter, even though He was only in His early thirties. So, Jesus didn’t get old, but he had the experience of coming to terms with His own mortality, just as we older folk do, as we look at the ever-increasing number of candles on our birthday cake.

It`s certain we will all die, but somehow this revelation doesn’t seem to compute for many of us, especially when we are young and feel unstoppable. However, a day comes when we begin to face the reality of our own mortality, and then how do we feel and behave? What did Jesus do, with His knowledge of His impending death, and how did He use the time left for Him on earth?

We read; Jesus takes a bowl of water and starts to wash the feet of the disciples. Jesus doesn’t turn His focus on to Himself but used His last hours with the disciples to focus on what they needed from Him. They were happy to follow and serve Him and had no doubt enjoyed been part of implementing His generosity to others, giving out food, bringing healing, and explaining God’s ways through teaching.

On this day, however, they had a practical need. They needed their feet washing. Jesus desires to meet this need and teaches us, that humbly serving others is always to be our priority in any way we are able, even to our last days. The way we can love and serve others may change depending on our circumstances, but our focus should be outward, even toward the end of life.

But I think this part of the events of that evening reveals something else that may be relevant to us too. Peter declared a limit on what he was personally willing to receive. I wonder if he had got a bit too focussed on the idea that it is ‘better to give than to receive’ when he said to Jesus ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ But why is he so reluctant to receive this willing service from Jesus? I think it reveals something of Peter’s self-image. He saw himself as an able, independent, self-sufficient person. Ultimately, it revealed his pride, and it needed to be exposed and faced, or it would stop him receiving the greatest gift of all, eternal life through the risen Jesus.

And this brings me back to how, in later life, we face the fact that our days are limited, often accompanied by becoming less robust in body or mind. Yes, we can always look for ways to love, serve, and benefit, others while we are able, but we also need to be willing to receive, as and when necessary, from others. It’s not easy when we feel vulnerable and in need of help, especially if you have always been the one giving help to others. I think that facing the fact that he needed help didn’t come easily to Peter. But if he hadn’t been willing to receive this small service, then he wouldn’t have been able to face his greater need and receive what Jesus alone could give him, restoration to Father God. As Luke tells us, Jesus Himself needed help from Simon of Cyrene when the weight of the cross was too much for Him (Luke 23:26)

If we refuse to receive help when we need it, be it a small act of kindness or much more significant aid, it highlights our pride in our self-sufficiency. So perhaps we need to consider our own willingness to be both a giver and receiver of help, in each season of our lives, so we don’t miss out all that God purposes for us.