Many centuries before Jesus’ birth, a small, oppressed people gathered together to share a meal in Egypt. Called together by Moses and Aaron, they heard of God's plan to set them free from their slavery. They would leave behind the pain of the past as they celebrated their true identity as God's chosen people. They celebrate this Passover Seder meal to mark the beginning of their exodus from slavery to freedom. Each time the people of Israel recreated this meal, it would be a constant reminder of God's covenant with them, his unconditional care and love for them. The people of Israel remember how God reached out to them in their poverty, their oppression, and their enslavement.
Centuries later, faithful to the traditions of his people, Jesus of Nazareth, called his friends and disciples together to celebrate the Passover seder meal. They shared the Paschal lamb together, said the blessings over bread and wine, and listened to the stories of how God had saved his people in their need. In some ways, this was a Passover meal like hundreds of others celebrated that evening in Jerusalem, like millions celebrated before and since then. However, in other ways, Jesus did something different and unexpected. Jesus rose from his place as head of this household, removed his robe, wrapped a towel round his waist, and knelt humbly before his disciples, and silently began to wash their feet. Jesus, the Lord and Master, knelt at their feet, performing the task of a slave or the lowest household servant. We can just imagine the shock, discomfort, and embarrassment that Jesus’ actions created amongst his disciples.
In different years, Pope Francis has commemorated Holy Thursday with a group of refugees from different religious traditions and a group of prisoners at a correctional facility in Rome. These were profound gestures of love and service on the part of the pope. In our Holy Thursday Liturgy this evening, when I and other priests wash the feet of the people as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, all of us together are doing a gesture of peace, service, and love. We commemorate this liturgy tonight in a world where there is so much suffering, division, and pain. What was it like for the prisoner or the refugee to have the Pope kneel before him and wash his feet? What was it like for Peter, or Judas, or the other disciples, to have Jesus wash their feet? Are we at ease with a God who kneels before us, who looks upon us with love and compassion, who tenderly bathes our feet, tired from the burdens of life? Do we feel "unworthy" of such love, such attention? We may be like Peter, who at the last supper tried to resist this gesture. But what Jesus said to Peter, he says to us: "unless I wash your feet, you can have no share with me.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “this is who my Father is; this is the God I have come to reveal.” If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. In this simple gesture, Jesus speaks volumes.
This evening, as we begin the Triduum of Holy Week, we commemorate our connection to the gestures of Jesus at that final meal with his friends. We commemorate his gift of himself in Word and Sacrament, in bread broken and wine outpoured, in humble service offered graciously to one another, especially to those who are poor or vulnerable in any way. This is our Passover: the meal of the new covenant between God and all of humanity. Jesus invites us as his disciples to be Eucharist people for one another, to become his Body in a world which cries out for compassion, peace, and healing. This evening, during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, let us embrace this invitation together as we enter into the saving mystery of his life, death, and resurrection, poured out in love for us.
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