An Imaginative Reading of John 13 for Humility and Service

As we feed on Scripture—as we take it to heart—it fills our imagination, shapes our wills, and directs our hands and feet into the way of wisdom.

This power of Scripture to reshape our lives is a great gift when it comes to serving others. The challenge of service is not that we don’t understand it—it’s not hard to understand that following in the way of Jesus means we, too, are called to serve others in love. Rather, the challenge of service is that very often we lack the humility or courage to do it. We need to become humble people, courageous people, for whom seeking the flourishing of others is simply the way of things. How do we become people of humility and service? Well, one way is that we dive into Scripture and, through it, let God reshape our understanding, sift our motives, frame our intentions, and prompt new actions.

In the practice of imaginative reading, we prayerfully engage our whole person to lovingly attend to God through Scripture. It is a practice that was particularly fostered by St Ignatius of Loyola, who, through his spiritual direction of others, came to understand the powerful role the sanctified imagination can play in deepening people’s relationships with God. Ignatius recognised that God can address us directly as we enter imaginatively into Scripture, and he developed different approaches. The practice we detail here is an adaptation of an Ignatian approach to imaginative prayer. In this approach, we engage our five senses in an attitude of prayerful attention to the gospel story, letting the narrative frame and place us—and letting God’s word arrest and transform us in new ways.

This practice requires 20 minutes of undisturbed, undistracted time. You should have pen and paper handy. Below, you’ll find the link to our audio file. In this audio, Melody Cooper briefly introduces the passage before inviting us to prepare prayerfully to read Scripture. She then reads the gospel passage four times, each time giving us different prompts that step us through this imaginative reading. As you go, you may also find it helpful to have a print of the scripture below to hand.

May God use this time in Scripture to bless you, to breathe anew on your life, and to free you for new service in the way of Jesus.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 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.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Our framing here of the imaginative reading of Scripture is drawn from Michelle Young’s recent teaching at SPACE.

A further note: some of our readers will be familiar with Venn’s resource on the Spiritual Disciplines, The Hare and the Tortoise. Designed to be read and practiced over the course of a year, the book arranges the classic spiritual disciplines of Christian faith in a monthly cycle, with accompanying Bible readings. You can find further key Scriptures and practices relating to humility and service in the November section of The Hare and the Tortoise, pp. 140-149 – Ed.