Satan

In a recent conversation with friends, the question was raised, “”Who here believes in the Devil?” To which the overwhelmingly unanimous reply was, “Not I.” However one intrepid soul did venture to add that while he didn’t believe in the Devil, he wanted to believe that wrong doers somehow got theirs in the end. He wasn’t sure if that meant that there was a Hell or if there was some other means of punishing those that deserved it, but that the wicked needed to be punished in the afterlife. Not surprisingly there were more than a few voices that murmured in consent.

I have been thinking about this for the past few days and have come to the conclusion that people want justice, and that there are some crimes, some transgressions, that are so egregious that our mortal system for punishment will not do. I have tried to imagine what these crimes are. Rape? Murder? Genocide? Each word evokes an image of crimes so horrible that that are difficult to comprehend let alone punish. I mean, how do you give a rape victim back their dignity? How do you give a life back to the family that has lost one? How do you atone for wholesale slaughter and destruction? They very nature of these crimes suggests that, as mortals, it is impossible to find an answer to these crimes.

I tried to compile a short list of people whose crimes were so heinous that everyone would agree that person needed to suffer eternally. The list included Hitler, Judas, and Cain. But the list is problematic because even these people have their supporters, that is, not everyone would consign them to the ranks of the damned. Even though some might argue that the supporters of someone like Hitler themselves are wicked people, I suspect that the truth is far more complex. Again, it is not situation for which an immediate answer is apparent.

In my youth I was a huge fan of the German author Herman Hesse. Among the many books that Hesse wrote was a slim novel called Demian. It is the story of a young man, Sinclair, struggling with, among other things, an understanding of spiritual truth. Sinclair tries to understand his own inward feelings, some good and some evil. One of the major themes is the existence of opposing forces and the idea that both are necessary. At one point Sinclair’s friend Max Demian, compares Sinclair to the figure of Cain. Demian explains that throughout history there have been people who have exalted Cain, not because he killed his brother, but because of his dual nature, one that sacrifices and give praise to god, and the other that falls into darkness. Like Cain, Sinclair is conflicted by feelings of good and evil, a dualistic interpretation of the world split between our carnal instincts and the morals of society.

In another part of the book, Demian argues that the Christian God is an insufficient god; it rules over all that is wholesome, but there is another half of the world. Hesse's Demian evokes the Gnostic god diety Abraxas, symbolized as a bird breaking free from an egg or a globe, to talk about a God of Heaven. This is a common theme in Gnosticism, namely that the old testament god s a deciever and the the true god, the god of love abides in some heavenly domain. We as mortals are unaware of this division, this deception, except through the spiritual purification given to use by Jesus. One Gnostic text, based upon the life of one of my short list evil doers, Judas, repeats this same theme.

The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic text which depicts Judas not as one who betrays Jesus, rather as a follower of Jesus who, on Jesus own command delivers Jesus up to the authorities in order to set the events of the crucifixion into motion. The Gospel of Judas portrays Jesus as having planned his own death in order to free him from a prison of flesh and return to Heaven.

While Hesse’s Demian and the Gospel of Judas are resoundingly dualistic documents and not part of the New Testament, the problem of a dualistic universe lies at the core of Christian Dogma. In her book, the Origin of Satan, Elaine Pagels discusses how the author of the Gospel of Mark radically transforms the understanding of Satan. There, Satan is portrayed not as a kind of attorney for the prosecution, as he is in the Book of Job, rather, in Mark, Satan is depicted as the leader of a band of demons engaged in constant spiritual warfare with the forces of Heaven, good verses evil, us verses them.

Pagels expertly concludes her book by suggestion that while one can read the gospels and walk away with the religious vision of opposition to powers that are regarded as evil, there is an alternate trend seen in Christian works from the first century through St. Francis of Assisi to Martin Luther King Jr. who have practiced praying for reconciliation rather than damnation in response to the dualistic forces of the world.

This is the more difficult path. But as is commonly asked in the Gospel, how does one love his enemies? How does we turn the other cheek? The gospels tell us there is but one way, and it is a religion based on love, tolerance and forgiveness. I think this is a profound message, and one that doesn't necessarily require a faith in Christianity to appreciate. As in my conversation with friends, while most people may not agree that there is a Devil or Satan, many acknowledge the presence of evil in the world. The question then is how do we confront this evil? By outright opposition? Or though a spirit of reconciliation that seeks to bring all parties back into the fold?

Footwashing

In November 1992 I wrote a paper for a Biblical studies class I attended at Claremont Graduate School lead my then professor Burton Mack. The focus of the class, as well as much of Burton’s writings at that time, was on the ritualizing and myth making that took place in the earliest stages of a religion’s initial formation. The purpose of the paper was make a critical examination of the act of foot washing in the Gospel of John, and to learn more about its practice and function in the Johannine community, and to determine where it at all, the act of foot washing became a ritualized practice in the Christian religion.

To accomplish my goal I began with the Gospel of John, where Foot washing makes its appearance. The first step was a literary exegesis, an exegesis is a critical interpretation and explanation of a literary work. Secondly, I compared the mention of foot washing in John with those from other sources, such as the writings of Paul, in order to clarify by contrast the interpretations of the act of foot washing in relation to the different communities from which these literary works came. Finally, I try to place the act of foot washing into a brief historical context in order to understand the function of the act of foot washing in terms of the beliefs of the community and as a ritual practice.

This final phase is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of this investigation, namely uncovering the historical role of foot washing in John. Outside of the reference in the Gospel of John to Jesus washing his disciples feet, there is very little written information about the role that foot washing may have played in the Johannine community, and even less physical evidence.

The episode in which Jesus washes the feet of his disciples occurs entirely within the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. Outside of this reference there are few other references to foot washing in the New Testament. Probably the most recognizable of these is in John 12 (Luke 7). In this passage a young woman burst in on a gathering of Jesus and his disciple and begins to anoint the feet of Jesus with expensive perfumes, using her own hair as the towel to wipe Jesus’ feet clean.

These two separate incidences of foot washing, one by the woman and one by Jesus, seem altogether different from one another, both in terms of the context in which the actions were performed as well as the materials that were used in washing the feet. These differences have lead many scholars to believe that the woman anointing the feet of Jesus is merely a symbolic act penned by the author to suggest the preparation of Jesus body for his eventual burial. Chances are that this story is unrelated to the Foot washing scene that appears in John 13.

It is reasonable to assume too that since the scene wherein Jesus washes the feet of the disciples in John 13 occurs in no other place in the New Testament it is possible that the author either created this story to address practices that were unique to his community, or extrapolated this story from practices whose origins lay outside the community but were nonetheless familiar to the author of the Gospel of John and his immediate audience. In either event it necessitates a closer look at the foot washing passage in John 13, and hopefully this may give us some clues as to its origins and purpose.



Part I. Role of Foot Washing in the Gospel of John.

John 13:1 opens with Jesus and his disciples gathered together for the ritual feast of Passover. This event it typically referred to as “The last Supper” and appears in all four of the New Testament Gospels. All four gospels include a reference to the Passover at the beginning of the respective last Supper Narratives. The Gospel of John last supper narrative is unique from the other three accounts in that the author of John does not elaborate on the ritual feast or offer an interpretation of this setting that connects Jesus the offering of bread and wine with Jesus’ body and blood as the sacrificial food of redemption. Instead, Jesus interrupts the meal already taking place, much to the dismay of his disciples, and begins to prepare himself for the washing of his disciples’ feet.

Further heightening the tension of the moment the author follow his reference to the Passover meal with direct reference to Judas’ impending betrayal of Jesus in John 13:2. The reference to Judas interrupts the foot washing narrative. The author then restates Jesus personal knowledge of his impending death in order to reestablish the flow of Jesus thoughts leading into the foot-washing scene

Curiously, references to Judas bookends the foot-washing scene. As Jesus concludes his washing of the disciple feet he returns to the table. Jesus picks up the bread and states that one of his disciples will betray him. In an interesting switch, Jesus uses the bread to identify Judas as the one who will betray him. The reader, potentially familiar with the other gospels that equate Jesus body and blood with bread and wine, are frustrated. The equation is visibly absent. Jesus passes the bread to Judas, who is then dramatically possessed by Satan. Contrary to the use of bread as a symbol of everlasting life, the bread becomes a medium through which some evil transpires. Foot washing, at first glance, replaces the more familiar bread and wine motif even as the bread now seems to harbor connotations of the betrayal of Jesus on the eve of his crucifixion and resurrection.

The only time, in the Gospel of John, when Jesus equated his body with bread, is in John 6:25-59. This time the supper scene is visibly absent and Jesus begin this section by chastising the multitudes for having become dependent on the bread of the world. Instead Jesus offers a new interpretation of the manna story. For Jesus, manna and bread signify death. “Your fathers ate manna in the desert and died” (John 6:49). Jesus repeatedly offers them the flesh of his body as replacement for the bread of heaven (John 6:50-53). This only confuses the multitude, since they cannot see any bread and are disgusted with the notions of cannibalism. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52b)

The end result of this narrative is the splitting off of many people including some disciples (john 6:66) over the controversy concerning the spiritual meal. The reader of the Gospel of John is left in anticipation for the last supper narrative to work out the problems of John 6. This anticipation for the last supper is emphasized as John 6 concludes with the mention of Judas’ intended betrayal of Jesus. This anticipation only forces the reader to rely on the interpretation of the upcoming meal in John 13 to work out the dilemma of the divisions between Jesus followers and also to give a final account of the interpretation of Jesus as the Spiritual Bread of Life.

As was mentioned before, the first reference to Judas in John 13:2 is bordered on either side of Jesus knowledge of his own impending death and his entrance into the next. This device seems to serve two purposes. First, it prepares the reader for the reinterpretation of the bread motif. Second, it emphasizes the transition from Jesus ministry (works) on earth to a new interpretation of Jesus as a sacrificial figure with divine authority under god.

Jesus begins by removing his clothing, pouring water into a basin. And then begin to systematically wash the feet of each of his disciples. (John 13:4-5) Taken in itself, the act of foot washing is an. act of great humility. This is evidenced by the Mention of Jesus great love for his disciples. The imagery of Jesus shedding his clothes creates a tender and dramatic scene within the gospel, which draws attention to itself by the internal strength of its literary imagery.

In the act of washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus is questioned by peter. Peter appears shocked and a little appalled that his lord is going to wash their feet. Without offer to exchange places with Jesus or to question the actions of Jesus, peter flatly refuses to allow Jesus to wash his feet. “Truly, Truly I say to you, no slave is greater than his lord, nor a messenger greater than one who sends him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:16-17) Jesus rebukes per for failing to understand the function of foot washing, and more importantly, Jesus remarks remind the reader that his own actions are in some way related to the fate of Jesus. To this end the reader is left to reflect on the action of Jesus. Jesus continues by relating his actions as those of a mater performing the functions of a servant Lastly Jesus commands his disciples three times to follow in Jesus own actions. (John 13:14b, John 13:15, John 13:17)

It is not possible, looking at the command of Jesus to determine whether they were intended as a symbolic or literal expression of Jesus desire that his Disciples follow him in the act of washing the feet of others. However when we consider the context in which this section of the gospel was written an interesting picture begins to emerge. John 13 traditionally marks the beginning of what are known as the “Farewell Discourses” by modern scholars. It is interesting to note that the emphasis seems to be on Jesus leaving rather than on his return (resurrection). As many modern scholars place the authorship of John much later than the other three synoptic gospels, Jesus taking his place alongside his father in heaven rather than become the resurrected savior/messiah may help to resolve the problematic return of Jesus, who has yet to return and take up reign as the King of Heaven on Earth. This interpretation of the beginning of the “Farewell Discourses” seems to portray a community whose beliefs focus on the role of Jesus as part of the trinity, rather than on Jesus as a Man. Thus the mandate of Jesus to follow in his actions should be understood by the community for which it was written as a literal command.

By means of conclusion to the first part I offer a summary of the main points.

First, Foot washing has usurped the traditional position of bread in the last supper narrative. Second, bread has been reinterpreted the some extent, as a medium for an evil agent. Third, Jesus associates the foot washing with his impending fate. Fourth Jesus mandates to his disciples that this practice be continued and that his disciples will receive blessings for their continuation of this practice.

Part II Mimesis.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the foot washing supper in John is the separate commandments of Jesus to his disciples that they should “wash one another's feet” (john 13:14b) and that they should follow the “example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15). In both cases, separated only by a few words, it appears as though Jesus is ordering his disciples to follow the example set by Jesus. The double emphasis of this command seems to suggest that it was to be taken seriously both by the disciples as well as by the readers. As Harold Weiss points out in his paper on the ritual of foot washing, “The community would not have preserve the command, if it had not been obeying the selfsame command.”

The “do this” command is, as noted, a very powerful and significant saying in the foot washing narrative. Jesus goes on to remark that anyone who will follow his example will receive his blessing from heaven. No small promise indeed! The promise of a reward only goes to strengthen the importance of foot washing. The position of this command in the syntax is unique to the last supper scenario when compared to the other gospels. The typical rejoinder is “do this in remembrance of me”. However there is a similar occurrence in Cor. 11-24-26. Here Jesus is portrayed within the context of the Last supper encouraging his Disciples to always associate the eating and drinking of bread and wine with the Christological redemption of the body. Though the language here is not as forceful as that in John 13 as to suggest that the command of Jesus in 1 Cor. 11:26 was intended to become a ritual practice. It is more likely that the ritualized dinner was already a common practice, and that the more innovate foot-washing practice needed greater emphasis in light of existing practices.

The fascinating thing about Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is that it falls within a discussion about the importance of freedom and faith. Paul’s say to his audience, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of god” (1 Cor. 10:31) and then in the opening of 1 Cor. 11 “Imitators of me, be you, as I also am of Christ.” Paul seems to be making a distinction between the moral duties of the community and an outright observance of ritual practices.

The ambiguity of Paul’s language seems to underline the practice of those ritual practices that were instructed by Jesus and held I observance by Paul. 1 Corinthians can be read as a direct command, much in the same manner as the command of Jesus in John 13, that the community should follow him in his example. In the second verse Paul praises the community for having “held fast to the traditions” espoused by Paul. We do not know exactly what traditions Paul is referring, or even if he is referring to a particular teaching or an actual practice, though by inference, as the language follows directly from an passage referring to the Eucharistic ritual, and beginning a section on the last supper, I think it is safe to assume that Paul is referring to the Eucharist among the possible traditions being kept by the community. Moreover it is possible that Paul wishes to associate the Eucharist with other, deeper, traditions practiced within the community.

Among the most notable words used by Paul in this passage is the Greek word Mimesis. Its usage in the Greek arose in the 6th Century BCE and was common both in poetry and prose. The most important examples of this use, for our purposes, lie within the dialogues of Plato. There, Plato describes mimesis as the actions of people truing to come into accord with the world of higher ideas. In his dialogue, Phaedrus, Plato describes the goal of the lover as imitating his God.

This usage of the word mimesis is carried though to Josephus and Philo. Philo uses the word repeatedly to signify the importance of keeping the commands of the fathers and, more importantly, “The Logos after his birth imitated the ways of the father.” Josephus does not reference the imitating of God, but will use the word to refer to it in terms of god’s creation as “the model which man should have in his life and work.” Both Authors seem to suggest that there is a divine presence or model upon which we should base our actions.

The idea of mimesis pervades the philosophy of the day, but its absence in religious teaching is equally notable. Mimesis appears almost nowhere in the Septuagint and it presence in the New Testament is limited entirely to the Letters of Paul. The, Paul uses the word mimesis frequently, though his usage varies, owing perhaps to the variant of authorship attributed to his various letters.


Within the letters of Paul there appear three different uses of the word mimesis. Firs is the simple iteration of modeling after that which comes before or that which sets precedence Second it the following of an example, typically where Paul himself is the role model to be imitated. Third is a usage where obedience to the law is predominant, as the exclusive manner in which one is expected to act. Kittle puts 1 Cor. 11 in this category as members of the community; their actions were expected to fall directly in line with the model of Jesus. Paul fashions the hierarchy from Jesus, through himself, to the common man in order to establish the necessity of following the example of Jesus with perfect obedience.

If we image this usage of mimesis within the context of following the Eucharistic practice, Paul anticipates that actions of the community as those following in direct accordance with the actions of Jesus himself. In this way we understand that, whether or not the last supper was being practiced as a ritual meal in this time, the seeds for such a ritual practice were sown in the idea that Jesus actions should be imitated, and that his promise that all might receive eternal life by partaking of his sacrifice would, by inference, also have then been taken literally by the community.

While we can thus say that Paul’s community was most likely practicing the Eucharistic meal, it is not clear if all Christians of the first Century practiced this ritual event. In fact, if we take the interpretation of the Gospel of John’s last supper narrative at its face, it is possible to believe that some communities distrusted the Eucharistic practice and may have abstained from its practice. Moreover The Johannine community may have emphatically taken the call to mimic Jesus and have forgone the practice of communion, for whatever reason, to become more active, servile participants whose consciousness of the humility of Jesus and acting in his stead, as the willing servant washing the feet of the other, come to symbolically represent the passion of Jesus more sincerely that the passive reception of his body an blood in the form of bread and wine. While this conclusion is at best speculative, it may help to serve in our understanding of the enigmatic symbolism that pervades the Gospel of John and certainly lies at the heart of any interpretation of the foot washing narrative, mainly one that espouses works as a means to grace.


Part III Historical Reconstruction

While certain speculative conclusions may be drawn about the intentions of the author and the community which he or she served, the third part of this paper will attempt to place some of these conclusion within an historical context of the Gospel oh John.

Indeed one of the most challenging aspects of this inquiry is placing the role of foot washing into an historical context, particularly within the Johannine community, chiefly due to a lack of tangible evidence. Up until now evidence for either a literal or metaphoric practice of foot washing has gone unchallenged. As one scholar pointed out, “Unfortunately, in the majority of the works on the Fourth Gospel or on the Johannine community one looks in vain for the slightest degree of interest in the practice of foot washing.”

However in his book on the Johannine community, John C. Thomas has challenged the skepticism of many scholars by attempting an historical reconstruction of the Johannine practice. By drawing from a wide source of second through fourth century authors, Thomas has Hypothesized that it is possible to place foot washing as a ritual practice within the Johannine community. Though in his conclusion Thomas concedes that such questions as to frequency, location and mode of foot washing may be difficult to answer. Thomas’ further study does suggest that foot washing was, in most likelihood, practiced in conjunction with a Eucharistic celebration and probably preceded by the Lord’s Supper as a significant part of ritual practice performed by members of the community.

In my attempt to interpret the literary content of John 13, is does not immediately appear conclusive that the meal and foot washing were necessarily combined. If the community has begun to introduce foot washing in place of the Eucharistic meal, and possibly even viewed the Eucharistic celebration with skepticism, then it is possible that foot washing may have moved outside of the ritual meal setting and was understood by the community in connection with a wider range of practices. However, whatever appearance this ritual would take in an historical setting would be difficult to identify.

One of the largest problems that scholars like Thomas face is the apparent lack of information concerning the community itself. Much of Thomas research was drawn from later, second though fourth century, writers who are themselves probably only struggling with their own interpretations of John and are not dealing directly with the foot washing ritual.

Among the earliest writers to document foot washing, was Tertullian, an early church father writing at the end of the second century who said, “I must recognize Christ, both as he reclines on a couch and when he presents a basin for the feet of his disciples, and when he pours water into it from an ewer and when he is girt about with a linen towel- a garment specially sacred to Osiris. It is thus in general I reply upon this point, admitting indeed that we use along with others these articles, but challenging that this be judged in the light of the distinction between things agreeable and things opposed to reason because the promiscuous employment of them is deceptive, concealing the corruption of the creature, by which it is made subject to vanity.”

This passage is interesting not only because Tertullian mentions foot washing, but also because there is an implied sense that foot washing is an on-going practice with Tertullian feels he must defend and in which no mention of a Eucharistic celebration appears. As Thomas notes “He (Tertullian) acknowledges that the use of a linen towel is also of significance in the mystery religion of Osiris” and that his community “ continues to make use of the basin, water, and towel, presumably in the observance of foot washing,” and finally that these points “underscore the probability that foot washing was important for the community since Tertullian is willing to risk similarity with the Osiris cult in order to defend the practice.” Thomas concludes from these statements that foot washing was understood as a call for literal fulfillment, but is as reticent as Tertullian in addressing the problem of the relation between foot washing and the mystery cults of the near East.

It seems strange that Tertullian would, in the first place, make such a passing remark about Osiris considering Tertullian is an ardent opponent of Heresies. However taking into account that foot washing is not mentioned in the other Gospels and that it has been, albeit casually, connected with older, non-Christian traditions, we should not dismiss the possibility that foot washings origins may come from or be inspired by other, non-Christian, traditions. It may further point to the unorthodox nature of the Johannine community.

In a 1992 lecture at the Claremont Graduate School, in Claremont, Ca. Greg Riley opened the possibility that the Johannie community was docetic rather than orthodox in its views of Jesus. Doceticism is the belief that Jesus physical body, and this his crucifixion, are illusory. This hypothesis is relevant in the sense that it focuses on the on-going practices of the Johannine community that are not as immediately concerned with the return of Jesus and rather hold Jesus to be a divine figure whose works should be emulated. Moreover, in her Recent book, Beyond Belief, Elaine Pagels suggests that far from foot washing numerous passages in the Gospel of John suggest a contentious even critical stance of the Johannine community not only against other more orthodox communities, but also against “Thomas” Christians or those that use the gospel of Thomas as a document central to their faith and beliefs. Pagels not that passages like those that talk about the “doubting Thomas” figure are unique to the Gospel of John and are likely a rebuttal against these communities that manifest very different Christian beliefs than those of the Johannine community. It is possible that foot washing then, was a practice that was meant not necessarily to set the Johannine community apart from those that practiced the Eucharistic ritual as the primary ritual practice of their religious worship, but was a critique on the direction that these other sects were headed.

IV. Conclusion

While we may never know to what extent foot washing was used in the Johannine community. The possibility that the Johannine community saw itself as an exclusive branch of the Christian faith seems evidently clear. The question about how foot washing may have been used in the interlocutor of self identification then becomes central to the discovery of the understanding of this important community and the Gospel which has shaped so much of the history of the Christian faith to this date. What is, I believe clear it that its message, one of works over faith, are as inspiration to those that read it today as it was to its original audience, and continue to be an important sounding board both for the Christian faith as well as focus for future scholarship.