The dusty streets of Palestine combined with the open-toe sandals of the day made for high employment among servants.  Those who entered into the homes of friends and family were typically greeted by a welcoming bond-slave.  The servant would wash the feet of the guests as a gesture of hospitality.  Though it was a delightful experience for the visitor, it was a demeaning position for the servant.

     You might even say it was a little gross.

     The towel of a servant is a constant reminder that things are going to get a little dirty.  Even as the feet of the disciples were soiled, you and I should expect to encounter people in our lives and ministries who have dirty feet.  A clean towel is a misnomer.  

     People are dirty by nature.  We enter into the world that way.  A child, if left unattended at birth, will die in its natural condition.  The filth of our physicality is just a mirror of the soul.  As the feet become unclean by the dust of the earth, the soul too is stained by the elements of the world.  People need to be touched with our towels; they need to be served with a gracious and loving spirit.  You see, only dirty people need towels-to expect anything more out of them is hypocrisy.