God our Father, we will gather to share in the supper which your only Son left to his Church to reveal his love. He gave it to us when he was about to die and commanded us to celebrate it as the new and eternal sacrifice. We pray that in the Eucharist we may find the fullness of love and life. Amen
John 13:1-15
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
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.”
Maundy (comes from the Latin mandatum meaning "to give," "to entrust," or "to order") Thursday in the Gospel of John comes before the Passover feast with the apostles. Jesus knows the end is near. At this meal with the apostles, Jesus ties a towel around his waist and washes their feet. The gesture and the act are full of humility and love. The actions speak more than a torrent of words. The apostles don’t quite understand, but Jesus assures them that they will.
This ritual still speaks volumes. We are humbled by Jesus’ willingness to do such a personal and menial task. The model of love and willingness to sacrifice for others is strongly portrayed in the simple act of washing feet. With that act, Jesus put his faith in those apostles, and throughout the ages, to each of us. We don’t always understand, but we can follow Jesus’ example and model of humility and sacrifice.
As we come to Maundy Thursday we are alive with hunger and thirst. We have followed the life of Jesus thru this week with great anticipation. It is not enough to simply go to church and "watch" it happen. We need to prepare. Each of us needs to "feel" the resistance of Peter. We have to "let" Jesus wash our feet, let Jesus give himself to us, let him be our servant. Jesus gives us a "mandate." He gives us the one commandment of the gospel, "Love one another, as I have loved you." He gives his very self to us, is broken and poured out, and calls us to give our very selves, to be broken and poured out, in love for others. It is important for us to "taste" our resistance to love. We come to church prepared by our reflection on how difficult it is to love some people, either because we find them unattractive or unable to love us in return. The liberation happens when we let ourselves have our feet washed by Jesus. Then the Eucharist flows from our gratitude. Gratitude is the seed for great loving - the "return" I can make to the Lord for his great love for me. Now, when we open our hands to receive his body and blood, we can feel, with great devotion, the power of this gift and the meaning of its mission.
Our final preparation is to be ready to appreciate the ritual of transition with which Maundy Thursday concludes. The Body and Blood of Jesus, which we share at this Eucharist is taken to a special place, so that we might continue to be nourished with this Sacrament on Good Friday. The altar and the sanctuary are stripped bare. With this solemn gesture, we ritualize what we as a community are doing to prepare for Good Friday. We strip our focus down to Jesus alone. All the signs and symbols are put aside. We are left with the taste of the Eucharist and gratitude in our hearts. We leave in focused silence. We leave with the image of Jesus, as servant for us, our hearts readied to celebrate the mystery of his passion and death for us.
Holy God, source of all love, on this night, Jesus gave us a new commandment, to love one another as he loves us. Write this commandment in our hearts, and give us the will to serve others as he was the servant of all, your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
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