Romans 10:11-17

 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

As a follow up to last weekend’s Evangelism Sunday, we’re not going to consider that series of rhetorical questions that Paul outlined in these verses – how can they call on the one unless . . . how can they believe in the one unless . . . how can they hear unless . . . how can they preach unless. Nor are we going to consider that confirmation class memory work assignment, that Bible Information Class proof passage, “Faith comes from hearing the message.” No, this morning we are going to focus on the verse sandwiched between those two sections. This morning we are going to focus on feet. Paul said, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”

Anything strike you as odd in that verse? “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” Feet aren’t beautiful, are they? – Especially the sandal wearing, goat path walking feet of the first century and the dry, calloused, cracked, pre-emery-board, pre-toe-nail-clipper feet of the people who walked the streets of Rome. So dirty, so dusty, so muddy were the feet of the people at that time and in that part of the world that it had become custom to wash the feet of your guests when they arrived at your home – a courtesy that the disciples, on at least one occasion, were either too proud or just too crude to extend to each another. Strange, though – strange, then – isn’t it, that the sandal clad Apostle would talk about beautiful feet.

Feet are just as ugly today. Corns. Calluses. Blisters. Blue veins, puffy veins. Crooked toes. Discolored toe nails. And so we cover them – we cover them twice – with both socks and shoes. And we cover them not just to hide them but because feet have the tendency to stink. Imagine the millions of dollars made by the person who invented odor eaters! And, if we don’t cover our feet, we do all we can to make them look beautiful – pedicures . . . not just women but even men . . . creamy lotions, painted nails, dead or callused skin scraped right off.

Feet, generally speaking, are not beautiful. And yet Paul says they are. How? Why? Is he talking about your feet? Is he talking about my feet? Is he even talking about literal feet? If he’s speaking metaphorically, maybe we need to take a different look at our feet – not our toe nails or our blisters or our arches or our ankles, not at out literal feet but at something deeper. Maybe if we did that we would see beautiful feet. Maybe then Paul’s words would make sense. So what about our feet – as we put them into the context of outreach and evangelism? What do we see? Don’t we see feet that we drag because we’re too nervous or too scared or too intimidated to talk to that friend, that neighbor, that total stranger for fear of rejection or resentment? Don’t we see feet that we, all too often, put in our mouths because we try to speak before we listen, because we assume we know what they need to hear, because we were too quick to judge what they believe and too insensitive as we condemned them for it.

Don’t we see feet that are content to stay on the blue carpet of this sanctuary or on the white tile of the fellowship hall because that’s a far more comfortable place for them to be than out there on the sidewalk hitting the pavement? Don’t we see feet that deliberately walk right passed opportunities to speak with people who need to hear what God has to say to them because we had something more important to do or somewhere more important to be or someone more important to talk to. Don’t we see – don’t we smell – feet that stink? Feet that reek with a lack of love for the lost or the confused or the guilt-ridden? Feet that emit the foul odor of fear and failure to put our trust in the Lord? Our feet, left to themselves, would never stay on the narrow path to heaven; all they can do is walk the wide road to hell.

In the upper room on Maundy Thursday Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. He humbly served them. He gave them an example to follow as well as the command to love one another as he had loved them. But Jesus washed our feet too. No, not in the upper room. Not with a towel wrapped around his waist. Not sliding a basin of water across the floor as he knelt in front of each one of us. But he did wash our feet. And he did so with just a few drops of water, sprinkled, of all places, over our heads – water which he connected to his powerful Word. You’ve all heard me say this: Baptism is the shortest bath we’ve ever had but it’s the bath that’s made us the cleanest we’ll ever be. In Baptism Jesus washed away our sin – the odor and the dirt of sin . . . gone.

 But in Baptism Jesus also covered our feet – he covered our feet with his righteousness. “All of you who were baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ,” the same sandal clad Apostle once wrote. That robe of Christ’s righteousness is long enough to cover even our sinful feet. God the Father no longer sees our feet. Rather, he sees the feet of his Son who walked in our place. Feet that sought out the woman at the well – “I who speak to you am he” – the Savior! Feet that stopped under Zacchaeus’ tree – “I’m going to your house today.” Feet that approached the woman caught in adultery and about to be stoned – “Has no one condemned you? Neither do I.” Feet that made the trip to comfort two sisters who were mourning the death of their brother – “I am the resurrection and the life.” Feet that walked to Calvary so that he could say to the thief on the cross next to his – “Today you will be with me in paradise.”