1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
John 13: 1-15
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 of 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 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 disciple’s feet, it was because he
loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
“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.” The mandate therefore, of washing each other’s feet becomes not only an imperative of humility but also a commandment of love. 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 we are to love one another, it is because Christ has love 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 on 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 altar 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 with 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 a 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 the 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.