Your Bare Feet

Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.

 - From Exodus 3

There is a lot to unpack in Exodus 3. So much symbolism that we could dwell on. But for further explication, today I choose the part about taking off your shoes, when on holy ground.

I thought about this for a while, and wondered to myself: "Why should we remove our shoes, if we're on holy ground?" What is it about holy ground, that makes us remove our shoes? This is still in practice in many eastern religions. Some serious Christian groups might have a foot-washing, which would require the removal of shoes. But for the most part, we do not experience this obviously meaningful practice in most churches today.

And of course, you have some unspoken, TMI-type questions. What if a person has really bad foot odor? Would that be a distraction in church?

I know that, if someone attempted to do a "Take Your Shoes Off" service . . . just one special single event . . . it would be received as vaguely scandalous to some. When we refuse to, or even just avoid, any custom that was prominent anywhere in the Bible, like this, shouldn't we wonder why, and maybe see if our pride is in play?

I have some friends that, when you go to their house, the front entryway just fills up with shoes. People learn the rule of that house - you take off your shoes here. The main reason for this is so that their floor and carpet does not get dirty. But biblically speaking, there's more to it than that. 

I feel way more comfortable taking off my shoes in my own home, or in that of my parents. Maybe, just a little, I'm okay with taking them off in a sibling's home. But it has always seemed just a little too familiar for me. It bespeaks a group of people that are very, very comfortable with each other. It's something that families do. It's very easy, and natural, to go around in your parents' home, with your shoes off. You do it automatically, when you're home. Home.

I like this perspective. Is this what "holy ground" is? Is the closeness and trust of a family, a holy thing? Was God saying to Moses "Take off your shoes and relax. Get comfortable. You are about to enter into my living room. Let's sit down and talk"?

Moses felt extremely awkward. He hid his face from God. He was like a shy pre-schooler entering your home for the first time. He grabs his mother's pantleg and hides behind her, trying not to make eye-contact with you. We can't believe someone is that willing to open up their home . . . their life . . . to us. Moses had an extreme case of this type of shyness. 

And there's the trust factor. When your shoes are off, your feet are exposed to new threats. A splinter. An insect bite. A crazy Yorkshire terrier that likes to attack the feet of passersby. You inhibit your ability to run away if you have to. Shoeless people are trusting people.

So, like everything else in Scripture. So much has been left out, that if it's still in there, it must be very important.

And so it is with the ancient practice of removing your shoes.