Feet of an Apostle

As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10. 1 - 15

The photograph below is a pencil drawing that hangs on my wall, a copy of Albrecht Dürer's Feet of an Apostle done by my oldest son when he was in high school. Supposedly the feet of the apostle Paul, this drawing encourages us to ponder where the feet have been, how they have hurt and the good news they have brought to "those with ears that could hear." Paul lived from circa 5 - 65 BCE, in a time when shoes were nothing but flat soled leather sandals with straps that secured the shoe to the foot. Roads were mainly dirt paths except for the Roman roads reserved for the military and trade. Those feet would have been filthy, smelly and anything but beautiful. I am not sure what attracted Will to them, but I have always treasured this picture as a symbol of some deep connection I hoped he had to what it means to be a disciple of Christ...a mother's dream.

Yesterday at church, the preacher's little girl got to church without shoes, much to her mother's chagrin! She pranced in barefooted, carried the cross out for children's chapel barefooted, and never missed a beat. Several of us soothed her mother by reminding her of the modern day apostle Becca Stevens, priest and founder/president of Thistle Farms, who travels around the world empowering and employing female survivors of human trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. Becca is always barefooted in church when she enters a sanctuary and serving as a priest, preaching or celebrating the Eucharist. In her words, "The invitation for people to take off their shoes when entering a sanctuary such as a temple or mosque allows them to feel closer to its holiness. 

As their feet touch the floor they are grounded, better able to absorb the blessings from God. 

Being barefoot is more than taking off your shoes. It is a humbling and holy act that sets you down gently on your own two feet."

In the book of Exodus, God told Moses, " Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” When we reminded the PK's mother of this command from God and told the child the same, there was a sense for all of us of the holy ground on which we stood. Her little bare feet, sitting cross legged on the floor also reminded me of Will's drawing, of my own bare feet and of the importance of the beautiful feet in the world that carry Good News. Take a look at your feet and compliment them and go out in the world continuing to spread the Good News...barefooted if you want to!