Maundy Thursday Year C [Jn 13:1-15]
14.04.2022
Jesus
Washes His Disciples’ Feet
1. Theme in brief:
The Eucharist energizes us for a
humble and sacrificial service
2. Focus Statement
The Eucharist gives us spiritual energy to give
ourselves totally in humble and sacrificial service of the needy that we may
become worthy to have a share with Jesus and be his faithful disciples.
3. Explanation of the text
By washing the feet of his disciples in the context of
the Passover Meal – which is his Last Supper with his disciples – Jesus takes
upon himself the role of a servant, since it is the duty of servants
(literally, slaves) to wash the feet of their masters and guests. Here he presents
the image of lowliest of servants as he stoops down to wash the feet of his disciples with
a basin in hand and a towel around his waist (13:5). It is a sort of acted
role-play to demonstrate his intention to render humble service to humanity unto
death and thus accomplish his mission. The disciples are stunned at this act of
humility and the reversal of roles with them. This humility of assuming a servant’s role
symbolizes his ultimate act of humility and sacrificial love to be demonstrated on
the cross. He wants to teach that the same love that he demonstrates by laying
down his life on the cross should also be demonstrated by his disciples by laying down their
lives in humble and sacrificial service.
Traditionally, the
symbolic meaning of foot-washing done by Jesus is explained as an act of humility
from his part. True. But in addition, it refers to his role of servanthood. A servant’s duty was, as per
Jewish custom, to wash the feet of guests as they arrive for feasts and
gatherings. Here Jesus stoops down like a servant to render a humble service as if they were his masters.
This is clear from his explanation to Peter’s objection: “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you
will understand” (13:7). If it is a mere physical
washing of feet, what is there to understand later on? Or if this action is
meant only
to teach a lesson in humility and service of a slave, even then what is
there to understand later on? Anybody can understand a slave’s service on the
spot. Experts tell us that the word “later” in this context refers to his sacrificial death on
the cross. Jesus, in fact, says that only when he lays down his life on the
cross, the disciples will understand how and to what extent they should serve out
of love for one another. Thus Jesus gives the connotation of “service” to
his entire ministry, including his passion and death.
When Peter objects, Jesus explains that washing his feet
is a condition
to have a share or
part
with him (13:8). To have a share (literally,
inheritance) with Jesus is to have fellowship with him or to participate fully
in his life, and to be his faithful disciples. For that
the disciples themselves must be interiorly washed first with the water of baptism
(13:8) and be willing to “wash one another’s feet” as their Lord and Teacher
has done (13:14-15). Foot-washing is not to be taken literally, but to mean giving (or
spending) one’s
life totally in service. Through foot-washing he wants to demonstrate that service-mindedness
is a requirement for discipleship. As Jesus’ body is given up
(broken or sacrificed) for the service of humankind, the disciples also need to
sacrifice
their bodily energies for others’ service, making it a sacrificial service.
4. Application to life
John’s gospel has no
narrative of the institution of the Eucharist. Instead, we have the episode of
washing of disciples’ feet by Jesus during his Last Supper with his disciples.
Why did Jesus wash the feet of his disciples? The traditional answer is to humble
himself. Though this answer is true, there is a further or deeper meaning in
this symbolic act. In it we get the image of a servant stooping down to wash
the feet of his disciples. A servant symbolizes not only humility but also service
rendered to the master. Since Jesus washed the feet of
his disciples at the Last Supper and the first three gospels tell us that he
instituted the Eucharist during it, we can find a close
relationship between the Eucharist and
foot-washing. From what is explained above, it is clear that foot-washing
symbolizes Jesus’ supreme act of service rendered to humanity by his sacrificial death on the cross. The Eucharist is a memorial
of the total
self-gift of Jesus given to us as a result of his humble service that reaches
its climax at his sacrificial death on the cross. As he told his disciples he
tells us: If you want to have a share with me, or if you want to be my faithful disciple, you too should also
stoop down to “wash one another’s feet” (that is, humbly serve one another).
Not only John, but also the synoptic gospels
take Jesus’ sacrificial death as his greatest act of service rendered to humanity.
Take for example, in Mk 10:45 Jesus says: “The Son of Man came not be served but to
serve and to give his life a ransom for many” (or to redeem many
people). Giving one’s life refers to death. In Lk 22:19, Jesus says at the Last
Supper, “This is my body, which is given for you’’, and “Do this in remembrance of me”. In other words,
“This is my body which is given for your service”. Jesus was a man for others. During the Last Supper he gives us a spiritual
nourishment (namely, the Holy Eucharist) to be men and women not for
ourselves but for others. By washing the feet of his
disciples in the context of the institution of the Eucharist, he wants to tell
us that his body
is broken and blood is shed for our service. Hence, we too
must ‘break our bodies’ and ‘shed our blood’ (that is, spend ourselves) for the
service of others. The Eucharist, if taken in this spirit, gives us spiritual
energy to ‘break our bodies’ and ‘shed our blood’ to serve others
with commitment and devotion.
What is service
then? It mainly
implies self-giving
or giving one’s life for the welfare of others which includes a sharing
of time, talents, goods, resources, knowledge, speech, and energies for the
good or welfare of others. Service and sacrifice are interrelated; no service,
no sacrifice and vice versa. “Do this in my memory” is the same as do this in
memory of my sacrificial service. Hence, whenever we hear these words during
Holy Mass, we are reminded that our bodies (i.e., energies, talents, time, activities,
etc.) need to be given or sacrificed for the service of others. Today we need
to ask ourselves whether we receive the Eucharist as a spiritual energy to give
ourselves in service, or just as a routine, or just for our psychological
satisfaction.
The word Maundy
Thursday comes from the Latin word ‘mandatum’ (= commandment). It refers to the
commandment given by Jesus at the Last Supper to love one another as he has loved us (Jn
13:34 and 15:12). It is also a command to serve others like a humble servant by
sacrificing one’s own life for others. Jesus’ admonition to his disciples “You
also must wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13:14) is the same as, “love one another
as I have loved you” (15:12), or serve one
another as I have served you to the point of laying down my life on
the cross.
There are two types of services which we render: (1) those which we have
to render out of compulsion, like our daily work/job/duty and household
chores; and (2) those which we willingly and voluntarily take up out of love for
the good of those who are in need of our love. Do we involve ourselves in the latter
type of services? Like Jesus, are we willing to stoop down to heal, care, serve,
reconcile, forgive and comfort those who are in need of this sort of services?
Do we actively look for opportunities for this sort of service in our own
little ways? Even a word of comfort/ consolation/ assurance in favour of the
needy and the suffering is a matter of service. The Lord whom we encounter in
the Eucharist is encountered among such people. It is by “washing the feet” of
such people (that is, by serving them) that we live our Eucharistic experience
in the sacrament.
Today, let us examine and see whether we, who receive the Eucharist
regularly, are affected
or
influenced by Christ’s way of thinking about rendering service in
our society and the Church, or by world’s way of thinking:
Ø Though jobs are called “service’’ in the secular world, many people
consider their jobs as a means only for earning
money, not for the service of humanity or society
or for nation building. What about you?
Ø People are respected and their services are valued highly if they bring plenty of money. For example, in many
third world countries, the service rendered by working women as nurses and
teachers is valued higher than that of so many mothers at home who teach and
nurse their children day and night, only because they are not paid for it. How
about you?
Ø There is a tendency in quite a number of people to escape from occasions to render service including
leadership roles in the society and the Church, if there is no monitory or prestige reward. Is it true about you?
Ø We observe many people wanting to escape from common work and meetings and refusing to share their time,
talents, knowledge and energies within their own community. Do you do so?
Ø We also see people wasting a
lot of time in gossiping, loitering around, playing cards,
fiddling with mobile phones and watching TV for hours after hours, instead of
using some of that time for social or community service. Do you sacrifice your time
for common service?
There is a tendency in many of us to receive the Eucharist for personal
and private spiritual benefits only and dissociate it from concrete deeds of service.
Normally, after receiving the Holy Communion during the Mass, we are accustomed
to thank the Lord privately who comes into our hearts in the form of Sacred
Bread and pray to him for a while. Many of us may be praying only for personal
favours from the Lord or for our own spiritual advancement. Besides these,
today’s gospel-message reminds us to pray to the Eucharistic Lord to energize
us to do works
of mercy or concrete deeds of service as he demonstrated by
washing of the feet of his disciples.
We can choose any one or two of the following works of mercy: to share
our food
and drink with the hungry; to volunteer for serving drinking water in public
places/ functions/ gatherings/ celebrations; to give away our clothes/
utensils/ furniture/ equipments/ gadgets to the poor or the needy; to share our
space/ place/
facilities with the poor for resting in between their work or for conducting classes/
coaching/ meetings/ gathering of the poor; to visit the sick in houses/
hospitals; to visit the elderly senior citizens at their homes or in the Homes
for the Aged; to comfort and pray for the sick; to take proper care
of the sick; to donate
blood to the poor patients; to visit the houses of persons arrested by the
police or put in prison; to spend time in praying for a departed person and to console
the bereaved family; to visit such bereaved families some time after the funeral
to console them and to pray with them. Only when we connect the Eucharist with
works of mercy and service, it becomes the Bread that gives life and love to
the world (not only to us).
5. Response to
God's Word
Do we involve in any voluntary service? Like Jesus, are we willing to
stoop down to serve the needy without any appointment or compulsion? Do we join
any social service group or association, or totally keep ourselves confined
only to our homes? At home also, do we expect others to serve us at our beck
and call, or equally contribute to the total welfare of the family? What type
of service do we routinely render to family and society, and what we do not,
though they need it very much? Is reception of the Eucharist only a custom to
be followed routinely, or a reminder (memorial) of Christ’s service rendered to
humanity which culminated in his sacrificial death on the cross? Do we take it
as spiritual nourishment given by Jesus to serve like him? Does Eucharist
energize and send us to spend our energies, talents, time and resources for the
service of others?
6. A prayer
Lord Jesus, for our
sake, you became a humble servant to the extent of sacrificing your life on the
cross. You were a man for others. Thank you for giving us such wonderful
spiritual nourishment in the Eucharist to be men and women for others. Thank
you for giving us spiritual energy through the Eucharist to serve others. Grant
that with this energy we may ‘break our bodies’ and ‘shed our blood’ by sharing
our time, talents, goods, knowledge, speech and energies with the needy, not
out of compulsion, but out of love. As we meet you as our Lord and Master in
the Eucharist, grant that we may meet you also among the poor and the needy through our service to them. Amen.
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