Lowly Like Our Lord | Lent 2026

By Jill Ogle

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. John 13:14-15

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

This is one of my favorite quotes from the Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You’ll Go. And think about it - we wake up, lace up our shoes, and go about our days. Yet, the presence of things as they are, and not as they were created to be, walks with us.

You can certainly blind yourself to it, but occasionally, it will catch up to you like a reverberation of a low bass in your heart - her untimely death, the chronic diagnosis, another failed dream, the pain, the grief, the tears.

And Jesus stood, took off his outer garments, and knelt at the feet of his disciples. “The evidence of a broken world is covering your feet. Let me touch them, hold them, and baptize them.” That’s the kind of Savior He is - embracing our mess and considering its effect on us while He lovingly washes it away to reveal the beautiful parts of us He made. A humble reminder of the transformation of the Gospel. “I am making all things new, and I choose to start here, with you, with your feet. …and, “Oh, the places you’ll go” from here.

Likewise, lower yourself before others, take their dirty treads into your own hands and consider its impact on them. Let your tears wash them with empathy, your hands serve them with compassion and let your heart of mine invite them to hope for something new.”

Reflect:

Close your eyes and imagine Jesus kneeling before you. Share with Him where you’ve been - the impact you’ve felt from walking in this broken world. Consider His tender compassion toward you and His creation. What do you long to be made new?