Subaltern, Deconstricting Christ and Re-imagined Sacramental Church

Reflection on John 13:1-17

Who makes news? Answers will be different like, high profile politicians, sports persons, celebrities, Rich, “successful persons”, World leaders and so on. Usually women, black, dalit and people from subaltern sections very rarely make news in the media. Mainstream media always looks the marketability of the persons so that they could sell them to make profit. Who wants the stories of a subaltern community and their life situations? Here comes the relevance of the Gospels. Gospels contains stories of insignificant people and thereby it is an alternate media which read the community living from the subaltern perspective. John’s gospel chapter 13: 1-17 contains a story which doesn’t have news value or marketability at that time where dominant and powerful have seen historical realities from the point of view of the elite and powerful. Gospel writers, the real journalists or researchers, who had a “third eye” question the dominant power structures through their bold writings.

John gives more importance to the washing of the feet than the Last Supper. I wonder why washing of the feet not included in the sacraments of the church. The passage begins with Jesus washing disciple’s feet. Shortly after they celebrated Passover, Jesus abruptly rose from dinner and began washing his disciples' feet. Foot washing is a lesson Jesus uses to convey the importance of the cross. This text carries a deeper meaning in the Christological and theological understanding of God-self.
Let me share three insights from my reading of this text.

Firstly, A Subaltern Christ in a Colonial Premise.

Jesus’ enacted parable occurred in a socio-religious and political premise where dominant power symbols were ruling over the subaltern communities like gentiles, women and outcasts. Foot-washing was not primarily a ceremonial custom. It was practically important because people walked in sandals through dusty, muddy and manure-filled streets. Your feet got dirty and stinky. Not surprisingly, washing someone else's feet was regarded as one of the most demeaning tasks anyone could perform. Like a scavenger, shudra, slave, Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. While doing this he finds his self in the subaltern life situations and he identifies with them. When colonial rulers and their agents taught us to call them “Lord”, Jesus implicitly asks us to call him servant of the servants. The term “Lord” lost its original meaning by using it by the colonial rulers or the perpetrators of the violence and hegemony under the umbrella of mission. Ironically our God is a Subaltern God, one who does the duties of the slaves, low caste sections like dalits. In that sense the identity of Christ definitely will challenges the colonial perceptions like seeing our brothers and sisters and the rest of the creation as “other”. Obviously colonial premise formulate theologies and theories which support the perpetrators of violence and they ask us to serve them. But Christ, servant of servants is ready to wash our feet. What a contradiction!

Secondly , A Deconstructing Christ in the Constructed Role Settings.

In Jewish society, foot washing was considered too menial a job for a Jewish slave, and was a task reserved for gentile slaves, wives and children. It was reserved for household slaves. The foot washing event is given in detail. These details are intended to draw the reader’s attention to the absurdity of the event. Here Jesus deconstructs his role as master or teacher to a slave. Every human construct contains the dominant values of that time and most probably it will be hierarchical, patriarchal, and oppressive because these constructions are made by the powerful people. Sometimes these constructs carry a kind of pseudo - order in the society like caste system. Sometimes people may ask, in caste system everybody have particular job assigned to do and let them do that particular job, why we have to disturb the order by questioning the caste system. Likewise we have gender roles. Men have special roles and women have particular roles to play. But the issue is the power relations and the issue of justice and freedom. We have the notion that dalits, blacks, poor are supposed to do the menial duties of this society- these human constructions denies dignity, freedom, justice, equality in their relationship. Jesus took off his robe, and tied a towel around himself- A symbol of deconstructing himself. He rises from the dinner table during mealtime (John 13:2b states that it was "during supper") and girds himself with a towel in a manner similar to the way in which a servant would gird his loins prior to engaging in a menial task We pastors used to wear girdle to remember this act but today it became a symbol of power and - The verb used to describe Jesus’ removal of clothes in v.4 is the same verb used by Jesus to describe laying down his life. The fourth evangelist’s verb choice signals the connection between the foot washing and Jesus’ struggle against the satanic forces.

Thirdly, A Re-Imagined Sacramental Church.

The washing of the feet was an expression of welcome and service, and it was practiced with people recognized as having some kind of superiority, social or otherwise. Jesus’ action led towards a discourse through this prophetic action, he asked his disciples to re-imagine the community living with Christ. Unless and until you deconstruct yourself you cannot be the part of the Kingdom of God. Christ challenges his disciples to become an alternate community in the midst of powerful royal consciousness. Bonhoeffer said, “The church is church only when it exists for others”. Church has to take off its robe of power and numbness towards royal consciousness. Jesus Christ inverts the terms, and his love brings him to serve even the most humble. “So, if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you”.The cross is the ultimate critique of the royal consciousness and clears the way for a newly imagined community.
Here church is placed below and the people are placed in higher position. But what happened today? We became rulers and the common people became Lazarus who was in front of the rich man’s house.

Theology is not only to be thought; it is to be lived. We are here to deconstruct the theologies which support the unjust, sinful, colonial power structures. We are supposed to do that because our God has shown this model through the washing of the feet of the disciples. Today, we are living in a neo-colonial premise where a minority dominates, exploits others in different ways. Christ asks us to challenge these human constructs since it destroys the image of God. Late Juhanon Marthoma metropolitan wrote in 1952, “The church takes pride in its traditions, its increasing numbers, its prospering institutions. It tends to forget its Lord and master, and its own early struggles”. We need people towards this tribe, people of vision, commitment and boldness. Yes-we need to re-imagine our church as sacramental because our God asks to be like that.