(Homily Holy Thursday Year B)
Today marks the beginning of the Paschal triduum, and it is indeed a
celebration beaming with joy and gratitude for what God has wrought for
humanity. In this evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper we gather to open the Paschal Triduum in preparation for the
commemoration of the Lord’s Resurrection. Today being Holy Thursday, We
celebrate and remember the Last Supper, in
a glaring manner we recall Jesus’ act of self-giving, orchestrated in the gift
of His Body and Blood; the gift of the ministerial priesthood in the
context of the Last Supper, in order to
perpetuate his presence in our midst. That fulfills his promise to his
disciples “I will be with you till the end of time” (Mt. 28:20). Jesus, indeed, is The Priest of the New Covenant, who
unlike the priests of the old covenant offers himself and his blood, and not
the blood of animals.
Our celebration today culminates in the
rediscovery of the essence of Christ’ self-giving (the institution of the Holy
Eucharist), the gift of his ministerial priesthood (the institution of the Holy
Orders), and in the midst of these he continues to invite us to rediscover the
value of service and of fraternal love (as exemplified in the washing of feet).
●Institution of the Eucharist: Institution here does not mean enactment of a
new rite. The institution is the investment of an existing rite with a new and
profound meaning. This earthly banquet enacted by Jesus looks forward to the
eschatological banquet. We may therefore, affirm that the Eucharist has a
backward (the the event of the Cross) and forward (eschatological banquet)
imports. ●The establishment of the Catholic Priesthood: Be that as it may, the
ministerial priesthood and the common priesthood of the faithful derive their
priestly character from the nature of the Eucharist. ●The commandment to love:
this is exemplified in the episode of the washing of the feet and the words of
the Lord that accompanied it.
In the first reading (Ex 12:1-8, 11-14), we see a fascinating description of the first
Jewish Passover meal. In that event it was customary that a lamb has to be
sacrificed for each family. Afterwards, its blood was put on the doorposts and
lintel of the house to protect and save its occupants (the Israelites). This
served as an identification of the houses where the Israelites were. Then the
houses without blood were for the Egyptians and when Yahweh passed over that
night the firstborn of the Egyptians were massacred. Here, God promised the Israelites
“The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see
the blood I will pass over you” (Ex.
12:13). The first reading therefore, is a narration of how the tradition of
the banquet of Paschal Lamb began. It
was a memorial sign of the passage from slavery to freedom (called the
Passover). While the blood of the lamb
protected and saved the Jews during the first Passover, now it is the Blood of
Jesus that saves and liberates us. His Blood is the seal of the New
Covenant, not the blood of an ordinary lamb. He is therefore, the New Passover Lamb. Let us make a few
consideration: First, the Passover as an annual memorial of God’s great
redemptive act. For a devout Jew believed that when he celebrated the Passover
he was actually there coming out of Egypt with his forefathers. This indeed, is
a strong realism. This type of realism tailors the Christian Eucharist. Second,
the shedding of the blood of the lamb is a sort of prefiguration of the death
of the Lamb of God. Third, the Passover was eaten in haste and expectation. In
the same vein, in the course of time, this sense of urgency has been
transformed into the great expectation of the Messiah. On the other hand, the
responsorial Psalm emphasized on the two aspects of the Eucharist: the sacrifice of thanksgiving and the
communion among believers.
In the second reading (1 Cor. 11:23-26) St. Paul presents a detailed description of the
Last Supper. Indeed, it is worthy to note that this is the oldest account of
the Last Supper. It was written even before the Gospels, for St. Paul wrote to
the Corinthians around the mid 50’s of the first century. Unlike in the
Passover meal, in the Lord’s Supper Jesus added two more symbols (Bread and
Wine). He took a loaf of bread, said the blessings and broke it and gave it to
his disciples saying: “Take, and eat it, this is my body which is broken for
you, do this in remembrance of me” (1Cor.
11:24). Similarly, he took the Chalice and said “This cup is the new
covenant in my Blood, whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me” (1Cor. 11:25). And indeed, with the
above words the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist was enacted. As such, Jesus anticipated the sacrifice of himself
on the Cross as he handed the Bread and the Cup to his apostles. The hot button message of this old Pauline
text is the fact that Jesus is the True sacrificed Lamb, not the animal of
the Jewish Passover; but Jesus who is both the “Offering and the Offerer”.
As it was in the tradition of the Jews to confirm covenants with blood, now
Jesus declares the shedding of his Blood as a confirmation of the New Covenant.
For this, St. Paul expressed with a sublime conviction, “Christ loved us and
handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God” (Eph. 5:2). Likewise in Paul (as in the
Synoptics), the Eucharist looks both backward (to the salvific event on the
Cross made present) and forward (to the second coming as anticipated here).
The Gospel tonight (John 13:1-15) narrates an unexpected fact that is only seen in the
gospel of St. John: the washing of feet by Jesus. During their Supper Jesus
rose from the table and removed his outer garment, with a towel around his
waist and He began to wash the feet of his disciples (Jn. 13: 4-5). This was an incredible scene in the sight of the
disciples, for this was the task of slaves. In fact, some biblical scholars
have it that, even during that time it was not the slave that washes the feet
of the guest, rather the slave brings a basin with water and a towel for the
guest to wash by himself. Contrarily,
Jesus went lower than a slave. Afterwards, He called the attention of the
disciples to the moral implication of what he has done: “I have given you an
example so that you may copy what I have done to you” (Jn. 13:15). As such, what should
characterize our identity as Christians is the humble service rendered to our
brothers and sisters in need. Our presence
should be a refreshing, enlivening and cleansing presence. He did not do it
just to impress the disciples or to win their admiration, rather he did it in
order to show them and to show us the example to follow. The washing of his disciple’s feet is a symbolic act. First,
because through it Jesus shows how he bowed down to humanity by means of his
Incarnation and his death on the Cross, Christ’s self-abasement. Second, is its
moral implication: “I have given you an example, so that you may do as I have
done to you” (Jn. 13:15). Jesus has given them and us a model of
love, serving others.
Drawing the issue further, a deeper reflection
on the foot washing reveals that this gesture of Jesus could be considered from
two perspectives: Symbolic and Exemplary.
First, the symbolic perspective maintains that the laying aside of his garments
by Jesus is a sign of humiliation or better his self-emptying and kenosis
(v.3). Second, the exemplary perspective which is seen in verse 15 “I have
given you an example that you should do as I have done to you”.
On the other hand, the washing of the
apostles’ feet by Jesus can also have other imports; let us pause a little on
the words of Jesus: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” (John 13:8). Now Jesus says to Peter
that he will have no inheritance if He does not wash his feet, which implies
that Jesus will be Peter’s inheritance but only if Peter allows Jesus to wash
his feet. For instance, it can be seen as a symbol of baptism; for when we are
baptized, our sins are washed away, Jesus becomes our inheritance. May we also
allow Jesus to wash us, to wash our feet, that
part of us that is always stained.
In all, as we can see, within the context
of the Last Supper Jesus instituted the Sacraments of the holy Eucharist and of
the Priesthood (Holy Orders). He passed it on to his apostles: “Do this in
memory of me” (Lk. 22:19; 1Cor 11:24).
In and with those words Jesus gave us the mandate to continue to celebrate it
in commemoration of Him, and that we do each time we celebrate Mass. Here we
have to pay attention, for the command “do this” (plural) is addressed to the
Christian community as a whole. The Eucharist is an action of the whole church.
He who presides at the Eucharistic celebration is the mouthpiece. On the other
hand, the one presiding exhibits the priesthood of Christ to the Christian
community. Jesus instituted this sacraments for the commemoration of his
Passion and Death (The One and Living Sacrifice), so that each time we gather to celebrate it, we relive in an unbloody
manner the event of Christ. It is not by chance that Jesus instituted these
two sacraments in the same context, and this goes a long way to reveal that the
two sacraments are intimately tied together. Indeed, Jesus is The Real Passover
Lamb (the Eucharist) And The Priest (The Priest of the New Covenant) For Love
of Us (He showcased this in the washing of feet).
Thank you Jesus
for the Eucharist, Your Eternal Presence
Thank you Jesus
for the Priesthood, That makes You present in our midst
Thank You Jesus
For calling me to share in your Priesthood.
And May God help
Us to serve others in love and humility!
(Fr. Vitus M.C.
Unegbu)
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