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Holy Thursday | Mass of the Lord's Supper

Ex 12:1-8, 11-14 | Ps 116 | 1 Cor 11:23-26 | Jn 13:1-15

With great solemnity, this evening, the Universal Church begins the Sacred Paschal Triduum, the three holiest days of the Church year.

At this, the first of these sacred celebrations, the primary mysteries we commemorate in this Mass, are the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the gift of the priesthood, and the commandment of the Lord to love one another as he has loved us.

Less than eight years ordained, it remains quite the honor to preside as the principle celebrant at a Mass which specifically recognizes the gift of the priesthood in the life of the Church. This annual recognition has always nurtured a sense of gratitude, and I, with my brother priests throughout our diocese stand before you this evening with grateful and humble hearts – grateful for the vocation to which God has called us, and humble in our service to you.

The popular means of transport in first-century Palestine was, of course, your feet. People walked long distances on rough, dusty roads to go from Galilee to Jerusalem. Travelers often arrived at their destinations with sore and aching feet. As a sign of hospitality, the host saw to it that his guests were given a warm foot bath and massage as a way of relieving their aches and pains. This was usually done by the house servants or slaves.

The disciples would have understood Jesus washing their feet in light of this cultural background. And for us it points to the meaning of the Eucharist we celebrate.

Understood in light of the washing of feet, the Eucharist is a place of restoration for people on the way. The life of a Christian in the world is a pilgrimage, a long, hard journey. A year ago on Holy Thursday, I celebrated Mass by myself in the church – my first Holy Week with you as pastor, and yet, we couldn’t celebrate with one another. It has been an exhausting year. This pandemic and its lasting effects have taken their toll on all of us, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Families, our nation, and the world-over remain divided. We’re tired and worn out. Add to all of this, we are still unable to celebrate the deepest mysteries of our faith in the sacred space of our church.

When we get tired and worn out, we are tempted to give up and turn back. I’ll be the first to admit it. On some of the more difficult days, I’ve played that game of feeling sorry for myself: “Oh, had I not been asked to be pastor, I’d still be at St. Brendan’s; I’d only be leaving this June.” Whatever your “oh, if only this, or if only that,” is, Jesus has provided us with the Eucharist as a place where we can go in to bathe our aching feet and to be refreshed in body and soul for the long and uncertain journey that still lies ahead.

The Gospel of John is the only gospel that omits any Eucharistic narrative, and John alone recounts the washing of the disciples’ feet.

In the story we find that Peter was uncomfortable with having Jesus wash his feet. Peter, was somewhat of an activist and would have preferred to see himself doing the washing, of Jesus and even of the other disciples.

Sometimes it’s harder to remain passive and allow someone else to bathe us, than it is to bathe someone else, as every toddler can tell you. “I can do it!” Or, later in life, when we’re less than able to care for ourselves and we begin to rely on others, often our grown children – the great role reversal occurs and the child cares for the parent. But having our feet washed and washing the feet of others are two sides of the coin we call the Christian life.

The first and most essential part is to let the Lord wash us. As Jesus said to Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me” (Jn 13:8). First, the Lord washes us clean so that we belong to the Lord. Only then are we qualified and empowered to wash the feet of our sisters and brothers in the Lord.

And that’s the flip side of the coin, which is equally important, is that after our feet have been washed by the Lord, we must go and wash the feet of others. After Jesus had washed his disciples’ feet, he said to them:

“Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (Jn 13:12-15).

Jesus establishes a close link between him washing the disciples’ feet and the disciples washing the feet of others.

If the Eucharist is the place where the Lord washes our feet, daily life is the place where we ought to wash the feet of others. The Eucharist leads to life, and true Eucharist piety must lead to the service of others.

Jesus who broke the bread of the Eucharist also washed the feet of his disciples. A priest is privileged enough to ritualize this enactment as a rich sign of his service to others; his laying his life down. (It is my hope to ritualize this beautiful action in our church next year).

All of us, however, by virtue of our baptism, must follow our Lord’s example; both at the altar of the Eucharist and at the altar of life.

May the mystery we enter into this evening renew our Christian dignity, heal all that might need healing within our lives, and strengthen us to live lives worthy of the one who purchased for us so great a gift, the gift of eternal life!

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