Homily: Holy Thursday-Good Friday
Holy Thursday-Good Friday (John 13:1-15) “A New Commandment”
Tonight, we read the Gospel of John’s story about the washing of the feet. We expect to read an account describing the institution of the Eucharist from one of the other three Gospels. John seems to deliberately leave out the institution narrative in the Last Supper. Surely, he had read the other gospels. He wrote his Gospel last. His story was written 50-60 years after Jesus’ resurrection. We are left to wonder what John’s rational was.
We know that the Eucharistic meal has many different Theologies. We can think of the idea that it is described as a sacrifice which can lead us in many directions. Did this meal reflect a premonition of what was going to happen on Good Friday? Was Eucharist an unbloody sacrifice that replaced the sacrifices in the temple? Eucharist might also be thought of in terms of being a common meal. Jesus had an active table fellowship throughout his ministry. He ate with thousands of people outdoors. He ate in the homes of his critics. He invited outcasts to eat at his table. Eucharist, then, can be about building community. We might also dwell on the idea of true presence as we contemplate the Eucharist. The bread and wine become what they are said to symbolize. The physical elements are the Body and Blood of the Lord. Jesus is here as he was two thousand years ago. But John doesn’t emphasize all that in his story of the Last Supper.
We remember, as we read John’s account of the Last Supper that he lived for decades in the church. He knew church life could be messy. Early church members argued over some of the same things we do today. Questions of church governance were debated. How often the Eucharist should be celebrated was questioned. Who should preside at Eucharist was disputed? John knew that Eucharist was about setting differences aside and becoming brothers and sisters in God’s family.
What was John, the 90-year-old apostle, trying to say when he used foot washing as the center piece of his Last Supper narrative? Maybe we could remember how we feel when we think of foot washing. Usually, one word could describe it, awkward. We are a little uncomfortable, we don’t like having others serve us in this way. Thank you very much, I will wash my own feet in the privacy of my own room. Don’t get into my personal space is our feeling. And I certainly don’t want to touch the feet of anyone else either.
Sharing a meal with someone is a lot more palatable. We even eat with people we disagree with. We can keep our opinions to ourselves at such times. When we think about Eucharist, we can consider it the great equalizer. We all come together; rich, poor, men, women, people of different sexual orientations, different races. We worship together in an agreed upon pattern. We stay in our own little world if we want.
What John is saying is that Eucharist is meant to be challenging. Eucharist represents pouring ourselves out for others. Jesus sacrificed his life for everyone. His body was broken on the cross for us. His blood was shed for the salvation of the world. We are ministered to by Jesus each time we come to Mass. We are also ministered to by others in the name of Jesus. We are challenged at Eucharist to go and serve.
Today is labeled as Maundy Thursday. What is that all about? Perhaps that question is the key to the whole experience of Eucharist. Maundy is a word drawn from the Latin word for mandate. Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment at the last Supper. The whole experience the apostles had is summarized in one line of John’s Gospel. The new mandate is proclaimed a few verses after what we read tonight as Jesus explains the meaning of the foot washing.
Jesus says: “I give you a new commandment: Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other. This is how all will know you are my disciples: Your love for each other.”
If we allow ourselves to be served. If we then serve others. We will be a living breathing Eucharistic people. We will then become what we eat. We will be Jesus for the world.
Reflection Questions:
- Am I uncomfortable thinking of someone washing by feet? Why was Peter uncomfortable?
- In what ways do I wash other’s feet? Is being uncomfortable all right?
Dear Parishioners,
Where is Jesus suffering in the world right now? Today there will be many recreations of the Lord’s passion. Some reenactments will even include actual crucifixions. People’s piety knows no bounds.
We don’t have to artificially create suffering. Jesus suffers when we suffer. He suffers when people are shot in the subway in New York. He suffers when another person is murdered at a crime scene. He suffers in Ukraine when someone dies in war.
We can remember all this suffering today and more. Jesus’ passion is being played out in real life situation. We pray for all those who are in pain today. We look forward to the end to the suffering of the world when there will be resurrection and new life.
May Our Lady of Sorrows bring comfort to the world today.
Fr. Mark