Gird Up Your Loins

Today was Maundy Thursday, and as is customary we did a little foot washing. I say "a little" because there were probably only about ten people who came forward to have their feet washed by the Pastor and I, but it was very meaningful nontheless.
Tonight's first reading from Exodus 12 was about God's command for the first passover. One of the instructions that God gave to the people was that they should eat the meal with their loins girded. I was interested in exactly what this meant so I looked it up. It turns out that groins and loins are not the same thing. Your loins are the part of your body that connects the top to the bottom. It is your entire waist/thigh section. To gird your loins meant to hoist up your long robe around your thighs/waist and tuck it into your belt. That way your legs can move freely without tripping. This is important if you are going to work or fight or run. God commanded his people to do this so that they would be able to leave quickly.
Interestingly enough, in the gospel Jesus girded himself with a towel and used it to wipe the disciple's feet.
When I went to wash people's feet I should have girded my alb to my loins. I knelt down to wash and one time when I was getting up, I was standing on my alb and almost fell headfirst into the wash basin. It turns out that that little detail in God's instruction and in Jesus' action is quite practical and still important today. Maybe next year I'll gird.