It was a Saturday morning and we were on a mission. We needed a new mattress so headed for our favourite shop. Previously the approach was straightforward. Lie on it, find out if it's comfortable; decide if you want firm, semi-orthopaedic, or soft; try to stay within the budget; buy it.
But oh no. There was a new smart bed, all wired up with sensors that read your body's position, weight and impression on the mattress and the clever programme told the sales person what was needed to accommodate my particular body. And don't worry about it being for two people; it would read the same data for Sheila and recommend a bespoke mattress specific to the needs of each. Eh? The price elicited a quick no thank you, and we looked at and tested the available ready made mattresses in another favourite shop, chose one, and arranged delivery.
You wouldn't think that scenario would lead to deep theological reflection. But standing waiting for the order processing, and the paperwork I looked down at the floor, took out my phone and took a photo. Breaking in on the thought processes of the past half hour, the familiar symbol of the cross.
The tiles had curled at the corners; someone had effected a quick repair with tape. Except that tape had been down there for a while, and had been walked on by countless feet, as people went about their business, from the sublime of choosing a mattress, to the ridiculous of having a mattress chosen for you by a computer.
Over time, this image has grown on me. I've thought about those feet scuffing and wearing the tape away over weeks. Trainers and boots, sandals and high heels, people getting on with their lives of working and buying, coming and going, talking and thinking, laughing and maybe crying. And all of them trampling unawares, over these four tiles, joined by tape for their safety.
"If anyone will come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." Discipleship is about feet, and the cross. To follow Jesus is to walk, to travel, to go where he goes, and live the Christ life. The connection between feet and faith has a long history. It's the call to walk into whatever future is ahead of us, and being willing to carry the cross by following faithfully after Jesus.
That trampled floor and worn out cross is a reminder, that we will find Christ in the ordinary, even the whimsical ordinary of a worn out floor.
Oh, let me see Thy footmarks,
And in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow truly
Is in Thy strength alone.
I finish with a quotation that has haunted and inspired me since I first read it:
“He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside,
He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same words: "Follow thou me!" and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfil for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.”
(Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus,
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