Shoes and Socks

Prayer Pairs #4

I’m not sure how this pair of words translates in other languages, but to english speaking ears, to reverse the wording to ‘socks and shoes’ just doesn’t sound quite right. If I’m going for a walk and someone is waiting for me it would feel forced or sound strange to say “I’m just putting on my socks and shoes.”

Imagine if we were to literally do this; putting on our shoes first and then putting on our socks. Perhaps we might do so if we wanted to make an interesting, if somewhat impractical, fashion statement. But really…. shoes and then socks? Pretty obvious which one should come first.

We live in a highly competitive world, where society tells us that bigger, better, brighter, faster, smarter, richer are indicators of being ‘first’. It’s obvious isn’t it - the same way we’d put on our socks before putting on our shoes. There’s a known order to how things work, a sequence, a ‘way’ to live well. Doesn’t everyone know that being the best gets you the reward?

And then we read Jesus’ words and… find that living the Jesus life is as upside down and back to front as putting on shoes and then socks.

Jesus told a parable about the kingdom of heaven. In this parable the workers in a vineyard started work at different times of the day, but all received the same payment at the end. The first, the best, the fastest, the most productive, the ones who picked the most or had the most expertise… were all paid the same as those who arrived at the end. Everyone received their full day’s pay.

Jesus then said, “So it is. Everyone who is now last will be first, and everyone who is first will be last.”

Matthew 20:16 (CEV)

The known order, the sequence of things, the obvious way things should work… all of it is up-ended. Jesus has a habit of making us constantly rethink.

Shoes and socks are really about what we wear on our feet. There’s another story about Jesus and feet that up-ends the established order and the obvious way things work.

We head to the final evening before Jesus was arrested and killed. In the practical traditions of the times, when transportation was by foot and the roads were dirty, servants would wash the feet of the guests of the house before they entered. Jesus gathers with his disciples for a final meal with them. Jesus clearly knew more about what was ahead than his disciples. In this last time together it might seem obvious that this should have been a party of honour and respect for the disciples master and teacher.Of course with Jesus, it’s back to front and we see getting up from the meal and taking the role of a servant and carefully washing each of his disciples feet.

After Jesus had washed his disciples' feet and had put his outer garment back on, he sat down again. Then he said:

Do you understand what I have done? You call me your teacher and Lord, and you should, because that is who I am. And if your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other. I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you. I tell you for certain that servants are not greater than their master, and messengers are not greater than the one who sent them. You know these things, and God will bless you, if you do them.

John 13:12-17 (CEV)

We know these things… and yet… imagine what people would say to us if we went around wearing our socks over our shoes? We’re not alone in wanting to fit in with what our society tells us is acceptable. We’re not alone in wanting to do the obvious and easy thing. We’re not alone in turning away from the needs around us, from pushing someone else down to pull ourselves up, from worrying about our own shoes and socks and trying not to think of others lack of shoes and socks.

It’s hard navigating life in our world. It’s hard to stand apart from the accepted society expectations. It’s hard to follow Jesus’ teachings. Using the imagery of feet, we follow Jesus by taking one small step at a time.

The prayers below use shoes and socks and bare feet. They take us beyond ourselves to think about the world around us and they bring us back to our own responses to these thoughts today. My hope is you’ll find your own shoes and socks prayers as you put on your footwear each day and take steps out of your home and into your neighbourhood.

Feel free to share some of your own experiential prayers based on feet, shoes and socks in the comments section.

On the journey

Caroline