Word to the Wise
Thursday, April 5, 2012 -
[Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15]"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."
Lent has ended. The days of the Sacred Triduum begin today. Palm Sunday served as a kind of opening scene of triumph, but the dark cloud of betrayal was on the horizon. The Last Supper scene with its dual commands is now the focus of our attention. I say, "dual commands" because the Gospel of John does not report what St. Paul (and the other three gospels) reports in today's second scripture about the "establishment" of the Eucharist, with Jesus' command, "Do this in remembrance of me." St. John reports the washing of the feet of the apostles. This action is recalled during the Mass of the Lord's Supper this evening, and is called the "mandatum" (command). The two commands are essentially the same but they refer to different actions.
Jesus first gives himself to us as food - nourishment. But he also gives himself to us in service - washing one another's feet. Since the washing of the feet does not occur at every celebration of the Eucharist, it is easy to forget that we were also commanded to do this in his memory. "Remembrance" does not mean nostalgia! It means to repeat the action in his name here and now! The commands were not given only to the disciples present at the Last Supper, as St. Paul reminds us. Jesus' question should be the theme of the day and for all the Sacred Triduum and Easter Sunday: Do you realize what I have done for you? AMEN
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