First Reading - Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel - John 13:1-15
The first reading gives us an account of the origin of the Jewish feast of Passover when the Israelites celebrated God’s breaking the chains of their Egyptian slavery and leading them to the land He had given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God established a covenant with them, making of them His own beloved people. God gave the Hebrews two instructions: prepare for the moment of liberation by a ritual meal [to be held annually in later years] and make a symbolic mark on your homes to exempt yourselves from the coming slaughter. This tradition continued in the Church as the Lord’s Supper, with the Eucharist as its focal point. The Passover feast is celebrated by the Jewish communities round the world every year; Passover meal is a re-enactment of that hasty meal the Israelite people had to take before their flight across the Red Sea from Egypt. — a flight from slavery to freedom and liberation. The meal is full of symbols – the lamb eaten whole, the blood of the lamb painted on the door posts, the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, eating the meal standing and dressed ready for a long journey. It is a sacred remembering of God’s great act to liberate them from slavery, and the beginning their long trek to the Promised Land. It was no coincidence that it was precisely during the celebration of this private Passover meal with his disciples that Jesus instituted and the Sacrament of the Ministerial Priesthood (Holy Orders).
In the second reading, Paul identifies a source and purpose for the communal celebration of the Lord’s Supper beyond what was passed on to him upon his conversion, namely that which he had received “from the Lord.” This suggests that, from the very beginning of the Church, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper was an unbroken tradition. Paul implies that another purpose of this celebration was to “proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes again.” Paul may simply mean that Christians, by this ritual act, remind themselves of the death and Resurrection of Jesus; he may also mean that Christians prepare themselves for the proclamation of Christ to the world at large. Addressing abuses and misunderstandings concerning the “breaking of the bread” in the Corinthian Church, Paul gives us all the warning that if we fail to embrace the spirit of love and servant-hood in which the gift of the Eucharist is given to us, then “Eucharist” becomes a judgment against us
In this reading, St. Paul recalls what Jesus did during that Passover meal, that Last Supper. Jesus transformed his Last Supper into the first Eucharistic celebration – “While they were eating Jesus took the 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 the blood of the covenant which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.’ ” Jesus thus instituted the Holy Eucharist as the sign and reality of God’s perpetual presence with His people as their living, heavenly food, in the form of bread and wine. This was followed by the institution of the Ministerial Priesthood with the command,“Do this in memory of me.”Here is the link between the Hebrew and the Christian Covenants. There is no mention of a lamb because there is a new lamb: Jesus himself is the Pascal Lamb. He served as both the Host and the Victim of a sacrifice and became the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. He is the sacrificial victim of the New Covenant whose blood will adorn the wood of the cross. In this meal, the emphasis is on the unleavened bread and Body, on wine and Blood. This meal becomes now the sacrament of a new liberation, not just from physical slavery, but from every kind of slavery, especially that of sin and evil, through the broken Body of Jesus and his poured-out Blood on the cross, and the basis for the celebration of the Eucharist, which is at the heart of all our Christian living.
Today’s Gospel describes how Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover into the Eucharistic celebration. First, he washed His Apostles’ feet – a tender reminder of his undying affection for them. On Good Friday he washes us again, in the humble flow of his own blood. Then he commanded them to do the same for each other. The incident reminds us that our vocation is to take care of one another as Jesus always takes care of us. Finally, Jesus gave his apostles his own Body and Blood under the appearances of bread and wine as Food and Drink for their souls, so that, as long as they lived, they’d never be without the comfort and strength of his presence. Thus, Jesus washed their feet, fed them, and then went out to die for us all. This Gospel episode challenges us to become for others Christ the healer, Christ the compassionate and selfless brother, and Christ the humble “washer of feet.”The Gospel Reading of today is not off the point or out of place as it may appear, as the institution of the Eucharist isn’t mentioned at all. But St. John in his Last Supper account also makes no mention of the bread being Jesus’ Body and the wine being his Blood. This Gospel is actually in perfect harmony with the other two Scripture Readings, for Eucharist and loving service to others go together. There is obviously a clear and important link here between the two. We cannot choose one over the other. Just as we are nourished by the body and blood of Jesus, we are also called to nourish others materially and spiritually. Just as the Body of Jesus is broken up for us, we are also called to be broken up for others. Our Christian living is a seamless robe weaving together Gospel, liturgy, daily life, and personal interaction. There is something lacking if we are devout in our regular attendance at Mass, but our lives are lived individualistically and selfishly. There is also something lacking if we are totally committed to caring for others but never gather in community to remember, give thanks and break the bread together.
Dear friends, our celebration of the Eucharist requires that we wash one another’s feet, i.e., serve one another and revere Christ’s presence in other persons. To wash the feet of others is to love them, especially when they don’t deserve our love, and to do good for them, even when they don’t return the favor. It is to consider others’ needs to be as important as our own. It is to forgive others from the heart, even though they don’t say, “I’m sorry.” It is to serve them, even when the task is unpleasant. It is to let others know we care when they feel downtrodden or burdened. It is to be generous with what we have. It is to turn the other cheek instead of retaliating when we’re treated unfairly. It is to make adjustments in our plans in order to serve others’ needs without expecting any reward. In doing and suffering all these things in this way, we love and serve Jesus Himself, as He has loved and served us and has taught us to do. (Mt 25:31-ff).
We need to practice sacrificial sharing and self-giving love. Let us imitate the self-giving model of Jesus who shares with us his own Body and Blood and enriches us with his Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist. It is by sharing our blessings – our talents, time, health and wealth – with others that we become true disciples of Christ and obey his new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). The Eucharist, if it is to be real, is essentially the sign of a living, loving, mutually serving community of brothers and sisters. A living, loving community celebrates and strengthens what it is through the Eucharist. It is this spirit of love and service of brothers and sisters which is to be the outstanding characteristic of the Christian disciple.
We need to show our unity in suffering. The Bread we eat is produced by the pounding of many grains of wheat, and the Wine we drink is the result of the crushing of many grapes. Both are thus symbols of unity through suffering. They invite us to help, console, support, and pray for others who suffer physical or mental illnesses.
We need to make Holy Communion an occasion of Divine grace and blessing by receiving it worthily, rather than making it an occasion of desecration and sacrilege by receiving Jesus while we are in grave sin. That is why we pray three times before we receive Communion, “Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us,” with the final “have mercy on us” replaced by “grant us peace.” That is also the reason we pray the Centurion’s prayer, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed” (Mt 8:8). And that is why the priest, just before he receives the consecrated Host, prays, “May the Body of Christ keep me safe for eternal life,” while, just before drinking from the Chalice, he prays, “May the Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life.”
We need to become Christ-bearers and Christ-conveyers. In the older English version of the Mass, the final message was, “Go in peace to love and serve one another,” that is, to carry Jesus to our homes and places of work, conveying to others around us the love, mercy, forgiveness, and spirit of humble service of Christ whom we carry with us. That message has not changed, though the words are different.
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