Matt doesn’t get “getting us”

Malsh Walsh wasn’t happy with that Superbowl ad either:

Now, though I said yesterday I’ve read the NT in full, I admittedly couldn’t have told you exactly where in the Bible the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet happened, but I knew that it did, and a very quick search soon pointed me to the gospel of John, chapter 13 thereof:

When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

I even took that translation specifically from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, so a good Catholic like Matt should find it theologically acceptable. Of course, a good Catholic like Matt wouldn’t be calling the foot washing thing “heretical bullshit” cos he would not only know it’s in the Bible, but it’s a particularly Catholic thing:

The point Jesus was trying to make is already spelled out in the Scriptures, and needs little interpretation. We are to serve our neighbors, even if it means we must do things we might not like to do. Even if the work is dirty or hard, or even if we think it beneath us, we must still do our work. After all, Jesus Himself, the Son of God, washed the feet of His disciples. And we are no greater than Jesus, so surely we too should do the same.
In church, the foot washing ceremony is an important call for all people that they too should be willing to serve others. In the Catholic Church, this is called the Holy Thursday Mandatum, and the rite takes place after the homily. Members of the congregation are chosen to sit and have their feet washed by the priest, who plays the role of Christ. One by one, the priest will wash the participant’s feet with a basin and a towel.
Allow us to be explicit in stating the significance of this ceremony. It is a reminder that we are of the Body of Christ and as such, and His followers, we too are called to serve others in a spirit of humility. And we are to do so, even if we do not feel the desire to do so. As Christians, this is our duty.

And, obviously, this is what the self-described (ironically or not) “theocratic fascist” Walsh actually considers heretical bullshit. Fundamentally, Walsh is incapable of living up to that spirit of humility, cos it would require him to accept others, and there’s an awful lot of people out there that Malsh Walsh hates, particularly if you’re gay and even more so if you’re transgender, and he’s had issues with people that are female, non-white, etc. And all the other people who are OK with those people, obviously. I mean… you really don’t have to love or even like everyone on Earth, which I certainly don’t (you may have noticed) and I’m fairly sure no one actually does.

But at its core I think the whole foot-washing story is basically about acknowledging common humanity even with people you don’t necessarily like as such, which I don’t think is a bad thing… insofar as I have a philosophy, it’s that you shouldn’t be an arsehole unnecessarily; you don’t have to like everyone but if they haven’t done anything to warrant you being a prick to them, then don’t do it. Malsh Walsh, obviously, has warranted it several times over, and that makes him fair game, so as long as he insists on doing it, I similarly insist on doing this sort of thing…