Readings: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
1Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15
“If I, then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet,
you also must wash one another’s feet.”
Last Sunday, we saw our King set an example of humility by riding on a
donkey, a poor beast of burden. Today, on this most Holy Thursday of the Lord’s
Supper, he washes the feet of his disciples. Again, what is taught to us is the
virtue of humility. This is so symbolic of the kind of life our Lord has. It is
a life of a constant and consistent stooping down: from the stable to the
cross. But how should we understand humility and Jesus’ mandate to be humble in
the message of the washing of the feet?
1. True humility is possible only when there is true love. Humility
does not bear love; love bears humility. Love is not the fruit of humility;
humility is the fruit of love. A superior may serve his inferior in equal
degree as an inferior serves his superior. But if such service is done without love,
it is no humility at all but a plain showcase. The washing of feet was no
showcase. It was humility. And it was humility because it was done out of love.
John's gospel is emphatic. If Jesus was able to demonstrate such humble gesture
of washing his disciples' feet, it was because he loved his own in the world
and he loved them to the end.
The mandate, therefore, of washing each other's feet becomes not only
an imperative of humility but also a commandment of love. "I give you a
new commandment: love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must
your love be for each other" (Jn 13:34). Here we see the most similar
expressions of both humility and love: “… you also must wash one another’s
feet.” and “… so must your love be for each other.” Both are
obligations of equal weight. But surely they become heavy obligations on the
part of the believers not only because Christ said them but also because Christ
did them. It is the basis of these commandments that makes the difference:
Christ! Meaning, if we are to wash each other’s feet, it is because
Christ himself washed the feet of his apostles and if ever are to love one
another, it is because Christ has loved us so much and loves us to the end.
This goes to say that we must humble ourselves as Christ humbles himself and we
must love one another as Christ himself has loved us.
2. No doubt, the atmosphere of love ruled that holy night. This was the
particular mood that filled the upper room where Jesus and his disciples were.
And so, although the anguish was there, as he knew he was soon to be betrayed,
that most Holy Thursday night was no less than a night of love. And truly it
was, for it was on that particular night, on that night of the Last Supper,
that Christ too would institute the two great sacraments of love: the Holy
Eucharist and the Holy Orders.
a. “'This is my body, which is
for you…this cup is the new covenant in my blood.” The Holy Eucharist is a
sacrament of love. It is the sacrament of Christ's body; it is the sacrament of
Christ's blood. We Catholics take the very words of Christ to the very letter.
We believe that when he said them, he meant them; when he meant them, he did
them; and when he did them, he died for them.
The Christ who took the bread, blessed and broke it, is the same Christ who
gave himself up on Calvary. The Christ who took and blessed the cup, is the
same Christ who poured out his last drop of blood that the world may have life.
And so, for us Catholics, the Eucharist is the real body and blood of Christ.
It is no mere Symbol of Christ's presence, but Christ's real presence. It is in
this context that the Eucharist takes its profoundest meaning as a sacrament of
love. By instituting this sacrament, Christ has put flesh and blood to the very
words he once said: "No greater love does one have than to lay down his
life for his friends" (Jn 15:13).
And not only that. As a sacrament of love, the Holy Eucharist is also
the sacrament of perfect humility. And there is one reason for that: the victim
in this holy sacrifice is Christ himself. Perhaps there is not any greater
expression of stooping down than giving oneself totally as a sacrifice. This
reminds us of Abraham offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Puzzled and
trembling, he came to the attar of sacrifice. But that was how he showed his
humble submission to God. Christ too, underwent the same ordeal, and even
worse. Trembling, sweating and crying with tears of blood, he begged to be
spared. But at last it was not his will but his Father's be done. And he
accepted it in perfect obedience, in perfect love, in perfect humility.
b. "Do
this in remembrance of me…Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of
Me.” - - - Together with the
institution of the Eucharist is the institution of the Holy Orders. And this
comes as a necessary consequence of the Eucharist instituted as matter of a
divine mandate to be commemorated and to be re-enacted
until the end of time. As the sacrament of the real presence, the Eucharist has
to be celebrated from sunrise to sunset. But this can only be done if and only
if someone is ordained to celebrate it. Thus, although all of us share the
priesthood of Christ by baptism, there must be others who must share Christ's
priesthood by ordination. It is in this
context that the sacrament of Holy Orders becomes a sacrament of love and
humility.
As a sacrament of love, the sacrament of Holy Orders is first and
foremost a participation of Christ's high priesthood. Such priesthood is not
common but priesthood according to the line of the high priest Melchizedeck.
Thus, the holy orders is a very precious gift of love by the one who is the
fountain of love. And he who is called to such priestly life has to live out
according to the standards of Christ the High Priest. It is a life of love and
the priestly service that flows from it must then be a service of love. The
priest has no greater thing to offer but the love of Christ.
The sacrament of Holy Orders is also
a sacrament of humility since nobody is ever worthy of such precious gift of
love and service. The main task of the priest is to celebrate the sacred
mysteries at the altar. Of course, the service of priesthood extends beyond the
altar and takes its contextual form in the very life of man and humanity. But
anybody can do that even without becoming a priest. To be called to be at
service before the sacred altar is given not to many but only to a few. And
this is not because these few ones are good or better than the rest. - No. They
are in fact sinners, too. But they receive
the sacrament of ordination because of God's choice. Thus, to exercise the gift
of priesthood is not just a matter of obligation but it is mostly a matter of
privilege. And with all humility, the priest must handle it with care.