“I can’t believe they’d stoop that low.” Have you ever said that about someone or had it said about you? As it is typically used, it is definitely not a compliment. Stooping, like submission, is something to be avoided.
This week as I have contemplated Jesus’ last days, I began to think about Saturday. We know what to do with Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, but what do we do with Saturday? We’re good when we have something to do, but not so good when we just have to wait. We get done with Friday and would like to rush into Sunday. What about Saturday?
As I thought about that, I was reminded of the part in the Apostle’s Creed, where we remember that he, Jesus, descended into Hell. There are a lot of opinions about how that got into the creed, and what it really means. Most scholars seem to feel that the confusion arose because of different words used and that Jesus didn’t go to Hell, but to Hades or the place of the dead. I don’t like to get mired down in controversy. Here’s the thought that occurred to me. Jesus stooped, and he stooped very low.
Jesus, according to Paul in Philippians, gave up everything to come to earth. He stooped low. Imagine how low: the son of God, the third person of the trinity, was born and laid in a borrowed cattle trough surrounded by the smells and dirt of a make-shift barn. Jesus, as an adult, appears to have had no home of his own, and always stayed with friends. He stooped to having to depend on others. When it came time to celebrate the Passover, he had to use someone else’s space. When Jesus died, where did they bury him? In a borrowed tomb.
Who did Jesus choose to associate with during his time of ministry? Powerful people came looking for him, but he opted to dine with sinners, tax collectors, and women of questionable character. It reminds me a bit of the motley crowd David found himself in the company of back in the cave: So David got away and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all. (2 Samuel 22:1-2, The Message)
Then there’s the image of Jesus at that final dinner with his friends. No one had “stooped” to wash the feet of those gathered. Jesus didn’t have a servant he could instruct to complete the task, so he did it himself. Anyone there could have done it. No one did. I wonder if the disciples had an instant attack of the “shoulds” as Jesus knelt before them to wash their feet. He was pretty clear when he was done; he had just set the bar for them. How would they measure up? How do we?
I found a phrase while doing some reading this week: Stooping to greatness. What if we were to take the idea of stooping back? What if the measure of our success in life wasn’t how high we could go, but how low? It’s a bit like staying with Saturday. It would be more fun to rush into the celebration of the resurrection, but don’t leave Saturday too quickly. There’s great work to be done while we wait. Jesus stooped, will you?
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