Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 9, 2020
Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
In this time marked by the rapid spread of the Coronavirus, there is a lot of fear. The 24/7 news cycle gives us constant updates about the ever-rising death toll. The loss of human life is hitting closer and closer to home, and consequently, makes me all the more aware of my own mortality.
What strikes me most from today’s gospel is that on the eve of his own death — a time when most of us would be given over to fear and instincts of self-preservation– Jesus gives us an example of utterly selfless love: he washed his disciples’ feet.
If I am honest with myself, if I knew that I only had a few hours left on this earth, I would probably be more inclined to hide myself away, trying to quell my own anxiety and inner anguish by distracting myself with the comforts of this world, or, by trying to spend as much quality time as I can with those I love most. But instead of seeking his own comfort, Jesus uses these final moments to make an extraordinary gesture of self-emptying love to the very same human beings who would betray and abandon him just a few hours later.
Jesus’ selfless example challenges us to pursue love and service of others rather than narrowly focusing on self-preservation during these challenging days. While we may be holed up inside the four walls of our homes for the next several weeks, our hearts cannot be walled off by fear to the needs of our brothers and sisters.
On this most unusual of Holy Thursdays, this is one way we are being invited to reflect on what it means to be a Eucharistic people, pouring out our lives for others as Jesus did.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, there is much in this world we struggle to understand. It is hard to grasp why one might betray a friend, why suffering enters our lives, or why the righteous sometimes pay for the sins of others. Such is the darkness that sets at the end of this holy day. Yet in this moment of uncertainty, you give us a sure model of how to live. As the Lord washed his disciples’ feet, so he calls us to do the same. Teach us, Heavenly Father, how to be more like your Son. Teach us how to suffer with dignity; how to accept the mysteries of life we cannot understand. Instruct us in the ways of love, so that we may be true disciples of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Saint of the Day
With the beginning of Holy Thursday Mass, Lent ends and the most sacred time of the liturgical year begins—the Triduum, the celebration of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. The Triduum is one liturgical act that begins with the opening procession of Holy Thursday Mass and continues uninterrupted until the closing procession of the Easter Vigil. The services on Good Friday, for example, have no official opening or closing because they are simply a continuation of the one prayer of the Triduum. During these three days, we will live and breathe the Paschal Mystery.
With Mass on Holy Thursday, in particular, the Church remembers the Last Supper at which Jesus offered us his body and blood in gifts of bread and wine. This Mass recalls the love by which Christ gave himself to us on the cross, and invites us to embrace and enact this love in service to one another.
Of the four Gospels, three depict the Last Supper as a meal at which Jesus broke bread and poured wine while blessing them, and gave them to his disciples, saying, “Do this in memory of me.” The Gospel of John, by contrast, presents a very different vision of the Last Supper—it is here that Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, and tells them, “I have given you a model to follow so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
Both accounts of the Last Supper tell us the same thing: in this meal and in this act of service, Jesus gave us one example of self-giving love that we are to follow. This example shows the inherent connection between the Eucharist we celebrate and the way we serve one another. Both are participation in self-emptying divine love.
Holy Thursday is sometimes called “Maundy Thursday.” The title comes from the Latin word, mandatum, which means “commandment,” and refers to Jesus’ instructions to follow his example of love.
The Last Supper is depicted in South Dining Hall as a replication of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting. The foot-washing scene depicted above is a painting that hangs outside of the chapel in St. Ed’s Hall. The reliquary chapel holds a piece of the table at which Jesus and his disciples gathered for the Last Supper.
On this Holy Thursday, let us empty ourselves in loving service to others, as Jesus taught us!