…COPY WHAT I HAVE DONE…

HOMILY FOR MAUNDY THURSDAY (MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER)

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

 Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14        1Cor 11:23-26        John 13:1-15

Today is Maundy Thursday. This evening’s Holy Mass commemorates the Lord’s Supper and the washing of the feet of the apostles. Celebrating the central feast of the Jews with His disciples on the last night of His human life, Jesus purposely superseded the Passover covenant by instituting the Holy Eucharist. Having done so, He issued the command to Do this in memory of me. At the conclusion of the formal washing of the apostles’ feet, Jesus issued a further command: you should wash each other’s feet. These commands of Our Lord are directed not only towards the apostles but to each and every follower of His throughout the ages. Today we commemorate the command of the Lord that calls us to put the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at the forefront of our lives. You can see now why today is called ‘Maundy’ Thursday. ‘Maundy’ is derived from the Latin word for ‘command’. We find the same root in the word ‘mandatory’. In all three of today’s readings, we encounter the Eucharistic command and the command to be of service to one another. The notion of what constitutes Christian service is set out in the Gospel (John 13:1-15). The First Reading gives us a foretaste of the centrality of the Holy Eucharist in the New Testament: this day shall be a memorial day and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord. It is an account of the institution of the Old Testament’s central covenant of God with His people, the Passover, which is superseded by the New Passover, the Holy Eucharist. In the Second Reading, St. Paul reiterates this command.

The festival of the Passover. The Passover feast recalls the journey of the Israelites out of slavery into freedom. Whereas the Synoptics place the Last Supper in the context of the Passover meal, St. John separates out the consumables from the Passover observation, placing the meal before the Passover event. This is interesting because, for John, the true Passover is no longer in the slaughter of the sacrificial lambs in the Temple in readiness for the Passover observance, but in the sacrificial death of Jesus the Lamb of God at Calvary. For John, as well as for us, the sacrifice of Jesus is the New Passover - the new and everlasting covenant - which assures our passing over from this life into eternal life. As the Old Testament Passover recalls the leading of the Israelites - the people of God - from slavery into freedom, the New Passover of the Lord Jesus actualizes our personal journey from the slavery of sin into the freedom of divine grace.

The conversation Jesus had with Peter reveals to us another dimension of how our life in God should be. Typical of the literary style of St. John is the bringing-out of deeper and supranatural meanings from the deeds and teachings of Christ by creating an avenue for someone to seek understanding of the ways of Christ. Here, a passage focuses on Peter’s objection to Jesus’ abasing of Himself to wash the feet of His disciples. The Jews considered the washing of feet to be the most menial of services. In our own day, the equivalent might be the job of cleaning the toilets. Never! declared Peter defiantly, You shall never wash my feet! Trust Peter to open his big mouth and put his foot in it! Peter’s words demonstrate our limited, human way of thinking. Any one of us might have said the same in that situation. The self-obeisance of Jesus, however, was not for theatre; it was to give the apostles and us a lead to follow.

In John’s Gospel there are signs to indicate to us Who Jesus is.  Yes, Jesus was washing away the physical dirt, but simultaneously He was cleansing His apostles spiritually. He is God and He was cleansing them in every way. Jesus was inviting Peter to make a spiritual Communion with Him. The use of water here as a sacramental indicates purification from sin, as in the sacrament of Baptism. The snapshot of Jesus on His knees, washing dirty feet, is an anticipation of the service He was to carry out imminently for all of us in offering up His human life so as to cleanse us from sin and free us from death. In response, the followers of Jesus should emulate the Servant King in lives of service.

After the Eucharistic act of having washed His disciples’ feet, Jesus declared: I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you. Jesus left us both an example and a principle which we, His followers, are meant to live out. This is the principle of service. The challenge to us following our reception of the Holy Eucharist is that of living out Jesus’ example of service. When we are nourished by the Body and Blood of Jesus, our feet are washed of the dust of self-centred journeys, our Passover from selfishness to humility and love is developed and sustained, and our mission becomes that of service in practical love. You’re familiar with the expression ‘actions speak louder than words? Our mission is to be carried out first and foremost in practical terms, in actions. Let me remind you of Our Lord’s words: so that you may copy what I have done to you. His emphasis is on ‘done’. Today, dear friends, the words of St. Teresa of Avila are especially helpful:    

Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are His body. 

That being so, let us rededicate ourselves this evening as members of the Church in humble service to humanity. Amen. God bless you.