Simple, but not easy

Pastor Max Lyons opens by promising one thing that can improve your marriage, your parenting, your influence at work, and your kingdom impact. He recalls taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University as a newlywed and being frustrated that he already knew every principle in it. The problem was never understanding; it was doing. Jesus summarized the whole Old Testament as love God and love your neighbor, simple but not easy, and Pastor Max warns against paralysis by analysis, over-theorizing the Bible rather than practicing it. In his words, "Most Christians today are educated far beyond their current level of obedience." Elan's verse for the year, Matthew 7:17, says a healthy tree produces good fruit, and health shows up in practice, not just knowledge.

The last night and a dispute about greatness

At the Last Supper on Thursday of Passion Week, the disciples reclined around a triclinium, a three-sided table, rather than the arrangement in Leonardo's painting. Jesus knew His hour had come. As He led them through communion, Luke 22 records that an argument broke out over which of them was greatest, the same argument from Luke 9. This time Jesus does not give another speech; He demonstrates a practice.

Jesus grabs a towel

Jesus takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel around His waist, and begins washing feet, a job reserved for the lowest servant in a household where people walked dusty roads in open sandals. Pastor Max notes this does not mean weekly foot-washing ceremonies, but it reveals the nature of Jesus: He did not insist on being served but came to serve, did not seek status but embraced sacrifice, did not pursue a crown but carried a cross, did not chase a throne but grabbed a towel. Your greatness is measured in towels, not titles.

Peter and the pattern of calling Jesus Lord but acting like Lord

Peter refuses, insisting Jesus will never wash his feet. Pastor Max traces Peter's pattern of telling Jesus no, from Matthew 16 to Gethsemane to Acts 10, and asks how often we keep asking God until we hear the answer we want. Jesus answers that unless He washes Peter, Peter has no part in Him. You must be washed by Jesus before you can be with Jesus; church, Groups, and Teams are good, but the starting point is receiving His service on the cross.

The rhythm of receiving and giving

A body of water with inflow but no outflow becomes a swamp; a heart that takes in blood but never pumps it out fails. We receive God's forgiveness and so forgive, receive His love and so love, receive His generosity and so give, receive His service and so serve. If you don't have a revelation of serving, you don't have a revelation of Jesus. Salvation is a complete bath, yet our feet still get dirty and need continual washing. From the seating he observes that John leaned on Jesus' chest while Judas likely reclined in the place of honor at His left; Jesus washed the feet of the man who would betray Him. Both were near Jesus, but only one was truly with Him. His encouragement: let's not be a church that is just in the room with Jesus, but one at His feet.

Competing with, not against, one another

Jesus tells His disciples to wash one another's feet as He has done. Pastor Max shares his CrossFit Open scores and explains that when gym friends asked for tips he gave them everything he knew, because he competes alongside them, not against them. Christians compete against the kingdom of darkness and their own flesh, not each other. John 13:17 promises blessing not to those who ponder these things but to those who do them; faith without action is dead.

Everyone does something

Serving does not save us; it is the natural result of having been served by Christ. Pastor Max calls everyone at Elan to serve somewhere, inside the church on a Team and outside it with spouses, kids, coworkers, and even enemies. He contrasts a bad invitation to serve on Elan Kids with a good one rooted in the privilege of raising the next generation. Moving into a permanent space can make people feel unneeded, but the need is real. No one person does everything, but everyone does something, and if the whole church caught this revelation, the impact on Naperville, Aurora, and Illinois would be bigger than we know.