The spiritual meaning of washing is purification – cleaning the mind spiritually much as water cleans the body naturally. “Feet” represent our lives on the natural level – the day-to-day outward thoughts and actions that absorb so much of our time. Washing the feet, then, symbolizes purifying the natural level of our lives, applying what the Lord teaches us to our outward, ordinary actions.

Think of it this way: Are you nice to the cashier at the grocery store? Can you forgive someone who accidentally cuts you off in traffic? Do you hold the door for strangers? Such small things may be signs of good clean feet. It also became a ritual, however, with a host honoring his guests by washing their feet. The most famous example of this is in John 13, when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper.

Our feet are the lowest parts of our bodies, and they're very useful! In the Bible, feet represent the lowest and most utilitarian part of our spiritual selves -- the “natural” level. This everyday aspect of life is involved with routine tasks and demands and the thoughts associated with them. It's not terribly deep or introspective, but it is useful -- just like feet. This correspondence is true of the Lord and of church communities, too. The Lord's Divine Natural leads us through relatively simple obedience (think of the Ten Commandments). Churches, too, have a natural level on which they serve their communities in simple but tangible ways.