Word to the Wise
Thursday, April 13, 2017 - Holy Thursday: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper - ABC
[Exod 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Cor 11:23-26; John 13:1-15]"[T]he Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, 'This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blook. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes." [1 Corinthians] 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]
Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the "Sacred Triduum." I realize that it may be very difficult for many to attend all three services of these days, but the effort will be richly rewarded if you can do it. Today we celebrate the Last Supper. Scholars debate whether it was a true Seder or Passover meal but the liturgy presumes this and the historical context is set in the first scripture from Exodus, which celebrates the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. This meal is celebrated in remembrance of that liberation! What we celebrate is the institution of the Eucharist, a central part of our Catholic faith. St. Paul puts it very succinctly in the first quote above, taken from the second scripture for this Mass. This shows the faith of the early Christian community which has been passed on to us and which we continue in the celebration of each Eucharist. When we "receive communion" we not only unite ourselves with Christ, but we also "remember" his death and resurrection.
What may escape our attention, because it is not done at every Eucharist, is another action that Jesus commanded that we do in his memory, the Washing of the Feet! The Gospel According to John puts Jesus' Eucharistic teachings elsewhere in the story and, instead, focuses on Jesus' washing of the feet of the disciples as an act of service. This is done symbolically on Holy Thursday and is now a very inclusive action, thanks to Pope Francis. Women, and even non-Christians, can be included (at least Pope Francis did). The Eucharist is intimately related to love of neighbor. The communion we proclaim by receiving the Lord must be manifested in the way we live.
This evening, the somber notes of betrayal are put aside to celebrate this great gift the Lord has provided, his continuing presence in our midst in the form of the consecrated bread and wine. But we must not forget his example in washing the feet of the disciples. We cannot have one without the other. AMEN
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