Mary washed Jesus' feet

The practice of feet washing is recorded from ancient days in the Bible, as it is also found in many other cultures around the world and is still practiced today. A while ago, I watched a video of a couple who incorporated a foot washing ceremony in front of their guests. I cried! It was so romantic, intimate, and it showed the honor they had for each other. During my years in high school, there were few times where I would witness this ceremony at camps with my youth group. It's incredibly emotional and intense. I remember watching people sob uncontrollably as someone held their feet and poured water over it. Not your average pedicure, right? I want a surprise for my guests, but also I want to be genuine and savor the moment, feeling as if it just us two at the alter.

I was thinking of how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. One of the disciples felt Jesus was not low enough to do this (keep in mind that there was no clean concrete or sidewalk to walk on in the Bible days--and they probably didn't have Nikes or rain boots). And after Jesus had done so, he asked them if they understood what he had done for them. It was symbolic of the cross--the washing away of sin. Wow! So, washing someone's feet was probably something you had to do for yourself each time you came home. It was like brushing your teeth every day--it was just an ordinary thing that you did daily and didn't really think anything special of it because it was just personal hygiene. Jesus had a way of making ordinary things extraordinary. He put meaning behind simple things. Mary washed Jesus feet with her costly perfume, wiping it with her hair. What an intimate, symbolic, and sacrificial way of honoring someone. However, I don't think brush each others teeth is something we plan on doing! We'll stick with the feet washing.

This ceremonial act also reminds me of the ancient Jewish tradition of the woman breaking her alabaster jar in the presence of the man she is going to marry. Traditionally, I have heard that young women would keep a costly white jar made of alabaster with perfume/oil inside and keep it for the man she would marry. When betrothed, she would then be allowed to break the alabaster jar and wipe the oil on the man's feet. So romantic and symbolic...*another sigh ladies*

John 12: 3
"Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and annointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of perfume."