Notes for17 May 2026

In some Christian churches the custom of washing feet has become a tradition. After all, Jesus says directly that we Christians should do this for one another, and if His words are understood literally, then the custom or even rite of foot washing can appear entirely appropriate - if not for one "but": Jesus Himself insists categorically that this is no rite and no ritual. The ritual washing customary during the Passover seder (and the Last Supper was precisely a Passover seder, a ritual Jewish meal performed during the feast of Passover) had already been completed by that moment. Now they had to recline at the table (in those days people did not sit at table but reclined), and before that everyone needed to have their feet washed, because one usually climbed onto the couch with one's feet.

As a rule, this work was assigned to a household slave, and so when Jesus Himself does it, it causes real shock: such a task is not for the Teacher. Peter protests, but Jesus is unyielding: if you refuse, you will not sit at the Passover table with Me. Then Peter tries to turn everything precisely into a rite, into a ritual washing.

If Jesus had also washed his hands and head, and those of the other disciples, then this really would have resembled a ritual cleansing washing; but Jesus does not want that. He is not going to turn ordinary foot washing into a ritual. On the contrary, He wants to show His disciples that the Kingdom is not a ritual, but ordinary life, the life people live, and live simply, not for the sake of observing some endless mysterious rites. Only in this life there are no tasks that are, on the one hand, "high" and "spiritual," and on the other, "low": any work is filled with spiritual meaning if it is done according to God's will and with love.

And a person's position in the Kingdom, his so-called status as an inhabitant of this Kingdom (to the extent that it is appropriate to speak of any status here at all), is not affected by any ministries or tasks: what matters here is the person's inner state, the spiritual quality of his life, not what he is occupied with. This is the simple truth Jesus wants to bring to His disciples by His own example. And if, instead of understanding and accepting this truth, we again and again turn it into a ritual, then the problem is in us, not in the truth.

How does spiritual life differ from religious life? Perhaps first of all in its attitude toward miracles. This is not surprising: a miracle is a revelation manifested by God, which is very difficult for a religious person to ignore. Religion finds itself in an ambivalent position with regard to miracles: a nonreligious person has no need of miracles at all; he can allow himself to ignore them in principle, simply assigning them to the realm of the (temporarily) unexplained, and rest there. The religious person is different: as a rule, religion needs miracles and relies on them to one degree or another; accordingly, religious consciousness cannot ignore a miracle in the way nonreligious consciousness does.

However, religion accepts not every miracle, but only one that does not contradict its own doctrine, and religious consciousness evaluates every miracle that comes into its field of vision accordingly. If what happened fits within the framework of the relevant religious doctrine, the miracle is judged genuine; if not, it is perceived as false or inauthentic, proceeding, for example, not from God but from dark powers. From the point of view of a person living a full spiritual life, however, a miracle in itself is sufficient testimony to God's intervention.

From the point of view of a person for whom religion is in first place, a miracle must be evaluated for conformity to doctrine - roughly (though not necessarily exactly) as the Pharisees do when considering the question of the healing of the man born blind. They are ready to acknowledge the miracle - but only if an explanation can be found that fits within the framework of their religious and theological concept; otherwise they are ready to thank God for what was done, but in no way ready to acknowledge the rightness of the One through whom He did what He did.

Thus the primacy of religion leads into a spiritual dead end the person who is ready to follow his own religious concepts unconditionally, despite all the testimony received from above.

How often does it happen that we, like the "men of Galilee," simply stand and look? We are under an impression: perhaps from a meeting with God, or perhaps with some person, or from something else... Something has struck us to the depth of the soul, and we want to preserve this feeling in ourselves a little longer. As one well-known literary character said, "Stay, moment, you are beautiful!" It appears to us that here, where this meeting happened, here is where we ought to be - because precisely here I can meet God!

But God does not want us to stand in one place, keeping watch for His next appearance. To the disciples "stuck" at the place of His Ascension, the Lord sends angels to explain: He sees them and is waiting in an entirely different place. They need to go farther, they need to fulfill His commission, they need to share what He gives in this encounter, without trying to keep everything for themselves.

In our relationship with God the principle is very true: "When you think you are standing still, you are falling." He wants movement from us - movement toward where He Himself calls us, toward where His Spirit leads us, without regret for the place of encounter left behind, but "with great joy" (see Luke 24:52).