Maundy Thursday (B)
[Jn 13:1-15]
28.03.2024
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) in Jewish society 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. According to today’s gospel according to John, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. And the first three gospels tell us that he instituted the Eucharist during the Last Supper. Here we find a close relationship between the Eucharist and foot-washing. We already mentioned 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 first three gospels
take Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross 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 sacrificed 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 salvation which is his
greatest act of service for us. 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.
This day is called Maundy Thursday in English. This word 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 as he did. 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 extent of
sacrificing 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 with the motive of rendering service to
humanity or society or of 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 community
services including taking up leadership roles in the society and the Church, if
there is no monitory or
prestige reward for those services. Is
it true about you?
Ø
We observe many
people wanting to escape from common work and meetings called for common
welfare and refusing to
share their time, talents, knowledge
and energies within their own community with the pretext that they have not
time or not free. 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, many of the
Faithful are accustomed to do a private or personal prayer for a while. Many of
them may be praying only for personal favours from the Lord or for their 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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