Cleaning Camel Crap... and other discipleship practices

Southern Egypt, Day 3.  If we thought it was hot in Cairo, this place feels like Cairo in a furnace.  H.O.T.   

We pull up from a beautiful boat ride which takes us to a shore of nothing but a hot, sandy, shadeless mountain:   the Sahara desert.

 “We will hike here.” our leader says.  Hike the Sahara.  The locals must think we are nuts.  Not the average tourist activity in Egypt.

And so we get out of our shaded boat and make our way through the scalding sand to get to the one and only group of trees on the shore, and try to make room for everyone under these small trees-of-relief.

After a brief but strenuous hike up the Sahara mountainside, we make our way back down to the lone shaded group of trees. 

That’s it right?! Back on the boat, right?!

“Now we’ll hike to the town” our leader says, as he points to the village a little over 1 km along the shoreline. 

I look towards the town (hardly able to see through the sweat dripping into my eyes in this 400 degree heat) and try to gear myself up for the challenge.  And at least this time, there is a path.  Phew.

But the “phew” turns immediately into a “pee-euw.”   We set out and immediately discover this path isn’t just used by people; it’s a main pathway for the chief animal of the Sahara – you’ve got it – the camel.

And there is camel crap EVERYWHERE on this path.  And we get to hike for over 1 km of this.

Now it wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t wearing sandals.  But why wouldn’t I wear my hiking sandals?  It’s 400 degrees outside!  Why wear hiking boots when you can stay cool in hiking sandals?!

Camel crap.  That is why.  Camel crap all over my hot, sweaty, sandy feet.

And so my feet continue to get disgustingly dirty on this hot, long hike on a sandy, dirty path, with so much camel waste.  And it became worse.  At times I’d have to stop and take off my sandals to get a stone or twig or something  else out of my sandal, which meant now I had camel poop on my feet AND my hands.  I felt so dirty, so grubby, and was very worried it would make me sick. (by this point, a number of our group had started to have stomach issues… and I didn’t want to become the next victim!)

I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel to clean my feet.  It was a good couple of hours yet before we returned to our hotel, and I couldn’t wait to get my feet and sandals and hands completely clean again...

When Jesus and his followers walked the roads and paths of Israel, I imagine they had similar issues.  There were no street sweepers, no hiking boots.  Sandals were the main footwear, and there was no one cleaning up animal feces on the roadways and paths.   

In John 13, we come across a somewhat familiar story.  Jesus’ death is immanent, and he is spending the eve of his death eating a Passover meal with his disciples, or followers.  And what does Jesus do?  Here he is, knowing he is but mere moments from being taken to an excruciating death and what does he do?

Jesus washes camel crap.

Jesus takes the position of a slave – the word is not servant, but “SLAVE” – towards his disciples.  And he cleans their feet. Only the slave of the house, the lowliest member, cleaned the household feet, and now we see why. Who would want to go anywhere near, touching and cleaning the dust, dirt, and worst of all, that animal crap from travel-weary feet?

 Jesus washes camel crap.

And Jesus, the God of the universe who came down in human form, washes animal feces off his disciples’ feet.  The God who created the sun and sky and sea lowers himself to a position of utter humility, cleaning up the filth off the feet of the very people who will betray and deny and abandon him in a few short hours.  This is humility in its rawest, purest form. 

Our amazing God loves us so much that he humbled himself to be a slave, and gave himself to death on the cross.  Wow. (Philippians 2)

But the story doesn’t end there.  Jesus invites us to do the same.  “Wash each other’s feet,” he says to his disciples.  Humble yourselves.  Put others ahead of yourselves.  Serve them with the same humility I have served you. 

What an incredible challenge: putting others’ needs first and loving them so much that we are willing to get not only our hands dirty, but our pride quashed.  The God of the universe invites us to love like he does, and give of ourselves up in the way he did.

How often do we truly return the humble love of Jesus to others, getting off our high horse and into the crap of a camel?  

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!”

Philippians 2:3-8