It's
Holy Thursday, this evening begins the solemn 3 day celebration of the Church
of the Paschal Mystery of Christ, which is the mystery of how Christ won for us
our Salvation and opened heaven to us so we may live eternally with Him and Our
Father.
These
3 days, the Triduum, are easily my favorite of the year. There is such a rich
meaning, history, symbolism, and remembrance in the Liturgy of these 3 days,
which is one liturgy in 3 parts. Tonight this epic time of worship begins, much
as what it commemorates began 2000 years ago, with the celebration of the Last
Supper, where Jesus gave us first and forever a real sharing in his life and
divinity through the Eucharist.
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said
the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat;
this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which
will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26: 26-28)
Jesus
does not tell us that this is a symbol of his body and blood, and that every
once in while we should eat crackers and drink grape juice at our church
service and feel good about ourselves. Instead, every Mass, and especially
tonight's Mass is a real remembrance, in the ancient sense of the word, to make
present again, of Christ's sacrifice for you and for me, of his passion, death,
and resurrections, the mystery of such great love and suffering. It is
difficult to wrap your head around. The first time I really realized what the
true presence was, it sort of tripped me up. I was in 11th grade, in
Confirmation class despite having already been Confirmed.[1]
That evening we were discussing the Eucharist, and when they said this is the
body and blood of Christ, the true presence, it gave me pause. I never until
that point understood that, and today it makes me wonder how many on my fellow
Catholics understand that. I now try to make myself consciously aware of the
true presence every time I participate in the sacrament. That this, is the
Source and Summit of our Faith, the beginning and the end, it is about Jesus!
While
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the Epistles of St. Paul speak of the Last Supper and
the Institution of the Eucharist similarly, the Gospel of John provides a
different account of Jesus’ Last Supper with His Apostles. John tells us of how
Jesus took a towel and basin and bent to wash the feet of His Apostles. In the
ancient Middle East, it was common practice that when one person came into
another’s home the servants would wash their feet. This makes perfect sense
when you consider people walked everywhere in a desert environment in sandals,
their feet would be dirty. This was also a mark of hospitality. We spoke at
length about hospitality and from a virtue ethics perspective, exactly what
Jesus had done.
So when he had washed
their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said
to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If
I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash
one another’s feet. I have
given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also
do.
(John
13: 12-15)
This
is a mark of true hospitality and truly living Jesus’ call to discipleship. In
one of his first tweets, Pope Francis remarked, “True power is service.” The
story of the foot washing expresses this so beautifully. There is no greater
love than to lay down your life for a friend (John 15: 13).
Considering hospitality, how welcoming can one
truly be of a stranger without love? One of the greatest examples of
hospitality in John’s Gospel is the washing of the feet in John 13: 1-20. Many
view this story of Jesus washing the Apostles’ feet only as a story of servant
love, but there is more to the story than just servant love. Viewing this story
only as an example of servant love downplays the actual event in the story,
foot washing. During the time that Jesus lived, it was common practice for
slaves to wash the feet of guests when they arrived as a display of welcome and
hospitality. Foot washing was not a task that a master or teacher would usually
perform for his students.
Jesus’ act of washing his disciples’ feet has a
deep significance for the ethical teachings of the Gospel of John. It is about
more than just cleansing. Foot washing has an effect on redemption and
following the example. As Jesus is washing the disciples’ feet, when he comes
to Peter, Peter protests having Jesus wash his feet as he thinks it is
inappropriate for Jesus to perform this act, but Jesus replies “If I do not
wash you, you can have no share with me” (13:8). That is, without having their
feet washed by Jesus, the disciples cannot remain Jesus’ disciples or receive
eternal life from him. To which, of course, Peter responds that Jesus should
wash his head and hands as well, but Jesus responds, “No one who has had a bath
needs washing, such a person is clean all over” (13:10). This bath Jesus speaks
of refers to Baptism, through which believers are cleansed, but the foot
washing, and washing the feet of others, is a way to enter into the Hour of
Jesus, through service to one another. This exchange between Jesus and Peter is
about whether or not Peter can accept salvation or eternal life on the grounds
on which it is given, and of course, true to form for Peter goes to extremes by
asking Jesus to give him a bath.
The meaning of the washing of the feet is
expressed when Jesus explains how it is an example for the disciples to follow.
Jesus asks the disciples, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call
me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have
washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example
so that you may copy what I have done to you” (13:13-15). The washing of feet
is about the disciples entering into something, being welcomed by Jesus. It is not just about servant love. Here Jesus
is telling the disciples that the way they love someone has everything to do
with the way that they welcome them. Jesus urges the disciples with this
example to welcome others the way he has welcomed them. The meaning of the foot
washing is about an important characteristic of the Johannine community. The
community is to be welcoming, to practice hospitality, for the Johannine
community; hospitality is part of the meaning of community. (Excerpt from my paper for John and Virtue
Ethics, Feb. 26, 2013)
This
is what I had in mind with the title of this post, I truly believe Jesus is
calling me to love Him in a new and profound way, and it is making demands on
me to be served and to serve in ways I am not sure I am quite comfortable with.
Although, that is the call to discipleship to move away from your comfort zone,
to greet and kiss the leper on your way to San Damiano, as the story about St
Francis goes. As I discern my vocation and I am seeking whether or not I am
being called to enter religious life, I question just what is it that Jesus is
calling me to? What is He asking me to enter into? How does He want me to love
Him? Ultimately that is what it is all about. Jesus loves us and we must in
turn love Him, and those He loves.
It
is about a call to be authentic. To truly live out Jesus’ call to discipleship
to make an authentic claim on us, and realize, that yes, true “power” is love
and service of others.
[1] Yes, I am a cradle
Catholic, but due to some oversight of well-meaning people myself and a few
others were allowed to receive the Sacraments of Initiation we had not received
at the Easter Vigil, when the families we acted as Sponsor families for
received their sacraments the first time my parish did RCIA for families, which
is also why the Parish I was baptized in had no record I had been confirmed.
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