What a blessing to serve

He Who Would Be Chief Among You

And he rose from supper,
Poured water in a basin,
And washed the disciples’ feet.
Those hands,
Hardened by the heat of a desert sun,
Comfortable with cutting trees
And turning them to tables
In Joseph’s shop –
Those hands
That with a wave could stop
The troubled sea,
Could touch a leper clean,
Or triumphantly turn death away
From the loved daughter on Jairus; couch –
Those hands,
That could gesture the heavens open–
Poured water in a basin
And washed the disciples’ feet.
The lesson lies unlearned to
But a few, Who trust the paradox
And hear the call;
"He who would be chief among you,
Let him be the servant of all."

Carol Lynn Pearson