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There once was a majestic cathedral in Northern Europe that was known for its magnificent organ. Unlike the pipe organs and electronic organs of our day, the organs in the old churches of Europe depended upon air pumped by hand to produce sound. When they had services or wanted to play the organ, an assistant to man the pumps was needed in addition to an organist to press the keys.

There is a story told of one time when a guest organist was scheduled to play a recital featuring the works of Mozart and Mendelssohn. As was the custom, when the organist appeared at the organ bench, he turned and bowed to the crowd and announced the music he was going to play. "For my first selection today," he said, "I will play a piece by Mozart." With that he turned to the organ and after a moment, with great flourish, put his fingers to the keys. But when he pressed the keys, no sound came out. A bit flustered, he arranged himself again and pressed the keys a second time. Still nothing. Aggravated, he stood and faced the crowd again and in a louder voice said, "For my first selection I will play a piece from Mozart." He returned to the keyboard and pounded it again, but still no sound. Just then he heard a voice from behind the organ. It said, "If you don't say we, I ain't going to pump." Standing once again, the organist addressed the crowd another time. This time, however, he said, "For our first selection, we will play a piece from Mozart." With that he returned the organ, pressed the keys, and great music was heard.

The church always plays its best music when we realize the church is a we and not an I. And this is why our Lord Jesus made holy communion one of the great sacraments of our faith. Because holy communion teaches us that we are brought together as a community of faith. We gather as God's family to receive the bread and wine. At the communion table we are brought together as the family of God.

A few years ago, my wife and I took some vacation time off and went to San Francisco. We'd been there for our honeymoon and wanted to go back. One of the places we wanted to see again was Muir Woods, a secluded forested place not far from the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a special place. In the windswept barren hills of the California coast, the road dips suddenly into a valley of redwood trees. There you enter another world altogether -- a world of giant trees, ancient coastal redwoods hundreds of years old which tower hundreds of feet into the air.

When we were there, the National Parks Service guide said something I will never forget. She said, "You know, of course, that you never find a redwood in isolation. It cannot survive. These towering trees can only survive in forested groups together. Their root systems are too shallow. By themselves they cannot withstand the wind. They will blow over. They survive only together because the root system of each tree is interwoven and connected to those of its neighbor. This is where they get their strength and together they are able to grow tall and survive for so long. There is no individualism here."

One of the greatest threats to our Christian faith is our own individualism. Too often we think we can be just as good a Christian on our own. We think we can read our Bibles on our own. We can pray on our own. We can even worship on our own, and we think we can get along without anyone else. But that's not what the story from the gospel of John tells us. That's not what Jesus says. In fact, the story shows us just the opposite. Like the redwood tree, we cannot survive by ourselves. We need each other. God knew that and so did Jesus, and that's why before going to the cross, Jesus gave an example of Christian love for us to follow. He knelt down and washed the disciple's feet.

In Jesus' day, the washing of feet was a task reserved not only for the servants, but for the lowest of all the servants. Every circle has its pecking order and the circle of household workers was no exception. The servant at the bottom got the "worst" jobs and in this case it meant getting down on his hands and knees and washing other people's feet.

But in this case, the author of the universe, the most high king of creation is the one on his hands and knees. Imagine it. The same hands that fashioned the universe, the same hands that cast the stars in their places, now wash feet! The one to whom all nations kneel, now kneels before the disciples. Just hours before his death, our Lord turns his concern on those nearest and dearest to him. And he leaves them an example of the Christian life together, and it is service and love for one another.

This moment of service, this act of washing the disciple's feet, is the key to understanding everything that follows. Before going to the cross, Jesus stooped in service to others. There in the midst of his last supper, there in the context of holy communion, Jesus put his stamp on all that he taught. By washing the disciple's feet, Jesus was saying that selfless love and servant-like living is what characterizes those who follow.

Many years ago, a sticky situation happened. It occurred at the wedding ceremony of the Duke of York. All the guests and wedding attendants were in their place. The sound of the majestic organ at Westminster Abbey filled the air. Everything was perfect for this royal wedding of some of the highest in British society. Except for one thing. As part of the wedding ceremony, the duke and his bride were supposed to kneel on a cushioned bench to receive a blessing.

A nervous whisper spread through the congregation as guests noticed that one of the cushions from the kneeling bench had fallen on the floor. The attendants standing near the kneeling bench were of royal blood and part of the "upper crust" of British society. To reach down and pick up the pillow would have been beneath them. So rather than do it, they all pretended they did not see the misplaced pillow until finally the Prince of Wales, who was a groomsman, picked it up and returned it to the bench.

Now, that example may not impress us much here in America where we pride ourselves on the equality of every person, but in a class-conscious society like Great Britain, that was an extraordinary act. However, it is not one that can even begin to parallel what Jesus did that night in the upper room. In kneeling to wash the disciple's feet, Jesus bowed down to our mortal creation; he lowered himself to the role of a servant, and not just a servant, but the lowest of all servants and in doing so, showed how deep our love for one another must be.

In holy communion we are brought together. But it is a meal that does more than that. It brings us together -- yes -- but it also sends us forth as God's servants. When we come to receive holy communion, we are sent forth to serve the lowest and the least.

Pastor Bill Hybels is the pastor at one of the largest churches in America -- Willow Creek Community Church. He is also a servant of God, someone who understands reaching out to others with God's love. Where did he learn that? At school, at seminary? Well, perhaps. But he also learned it at home. For Bill's father was not only a highly productive and successful businessman, he was also a Christian. And as such, for 25 years without fail, Bill Hybels' father spent one afternoon a week with a group of mentally disabled women at a local hospital. Every Sunday afternoon, the senior Hybels led a song service for the women there. He knew each woman by name and he treated them all with respect. Those women had no interest in his business. They could do nothing for him. He did it just for the joy he had in serving them, and that example rubbed off on his son.

It is that kind of example of selfless service that Jesus gave the disciples in washing their feet and it is the example he gives us. We come together in holy communion. But we are also sent forth to serve. There is no pecking order here. There is no higher or lower among those who serve the Lord. We are all equal. We are all servants of our God and king. Jesus has made that clear -- we are called to "love one another," to be selfless servants of God.

A group of four- to eight-year-olds was asked what love means. Here are some of their answers:

"Love is when you kiss all the time," one little boy said. "Then you get tired of kissing and you just talk with each other. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss."

Another little boy said, "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

But one little girl summed up best what Jesus means when he tells us to love one another when she said, "When my grandma got arthritis, she couldn't bend over any more and paint her toenails. So my grandpa does it for her now, even though his hands got arthritis, too. I think that's what love is."

Before going to the cross, Jesus gathered his disciples around him and shared a last meal with them. And as they gathered for that meal, Jesus gave them an example to follow: he washed their feet; he bowed down in service before them; he showed them what real love was like in the hopes that we would follow his example. In holy communion we are brought together as one family of God and we are sent forth in service. Let us do that now. In Jesus' name. Amen.