[stephenkhoo]

LOVE TO THE VERY END


02 April 2015, Thursday of the Lord’s Supper


SCRIPTURE READINGS: EX 12: 1-8, 11-14; 1 COR 11: 23-26; JOHN 13: 1-15

Today’s celebration anticipates the paschal mystery. What Jesus did was an anticipation of what He would be doing in the following three days. The paschal mystery is the total expression of His love. St John remarked, “He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and he loved them to the very end.” How did Jesus show His love to the very end?

The first day of the Easter Triduum is called Maundy or Holy Thursday. Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin word “command.” In particular, it refers to the command Jesus gave to the apostles at the Last Supper to celebrate the Memorial meal, which is what we call the Mass, and also the command that they should love each other as He had loved them by serving each other humbly; symbolized by the washing of each other’s feet. Both these actions of Jesus invite us to reflect on the depth of God’s love as manifested in Christ. Indeed, these two poignant gestures of Jesus aptly sum up the life of Jesus. Hence, it is important that we spend some moments to reflect on these two distinct but related prophecies of Jesus in action.

Firstly, the unreserved love of Jesus is expressed through the gift of the Eucharist at the Last Supper Meal. The Eucharist anticipates the paschal mystery, His passion, death and resurrection. He is the Lamb of God broken for the world. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament when a lamb without blemish was sacrificed at the Passover and when the angel of death passed by those doorposts of houses smeared with the blood of the lamb. Furthermore, “that night the meat is to be roasted, and eaten with bitter herbs and with bread made without yeast. You are to eat it quickly, for you are to be dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. It is the Passover Festival to honor me, the Lord.” Jesus, as the sacrificial Lamb of God, by His death, frees us from sin and death. Christ is the first born and freed from defects, that is, free from sin. Through His death on the cross and His blood as a symbol of the total giving of self to God and to us, we who look upon the Cross will be moved to repentance, seeing the extent of the mercy of God for us.

Secondly, the utter love of Jesus was expressed through the gift of the priesthood. That He appointed His disciples to do the same so that future generations can enter into the same sacrifice is truly a condescending act of our Lord. He has been so gracious to grant human beings the power to make present the sacrifice at Calvary and His body and blood so that we could continue to experience the same saving grace that was given 2000 years ago. This is what St Paul wrote, “the blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.” The Lord recognizes the need for us to continue to find strength in Him by being in communion with Him. Hence, the priesthood and the Eucharist are intrinsically connected, for the Church cannot exist without the Eucharist; and the Eucharist is the Church.

Thirdly, the love of Jesus was not just celebrated ritually but in concrete human action as well. The act of washing the feet of His disciples was symbolic of the way He emptied Himself for all of us. “So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.” In taking out His garment and lowering Himself down to wash the feet of His disciples, it was a demonstration of the stripping of His divinity to assume our humanity; and as if it was not enough, He became a slave for us; and to the extent of suffering the most ignominious death on the cross.

Fourthly, this act of washing the feet of the disciples also symbolizes the gift of reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins through the sacrament of baptism and the Eucharist. This explains why Peter said, “Are you going to wash my feet, Lord? Never at any time will you wash my feet!” Jesus said, “If I do not wash your feet, you will no longer be my disciple.” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!” Jesus said, “Anyone who has taken a bath is completely clean and does not have to wash himself, except for his feet. All of you are clean – all except one.” So the washing of feet was only a symbolic act of the cleansing of the soul, not so much the body. Through His death on the cross, Jesus won for us our forgiveness by convicting us of our sins and leading us to repentance.

In the light of the mysteries that were celebrated, our response must be that of the psalmist. “How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name. A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call on the Lord’s name. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.” So it is right that we give thanks to God for His goodness and mercy. By His death on the cross, He has set us free. “O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds.”

For this reason, the very word, Eucharist means Thanksgiving. To celebrate the Eucharist is to give thanks to God for the gift of His Son, especially His sacrifice on the Cross, His body and blood. We are here this evening precisely to give thanks for all He has done for us and what He is going to do for us.

How do we show our gratitude to God if not by being a thanksgiving sacrifice to others and fulfilling the promises we made at our baptism? The Eucharist is first and foremost a thanksgiving for the gift of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Thanksgiving leads to service of others and the desire to wash the feet of others. Without gratitude we cannot serve and give. Giving presuppose gratitude. Humble service presupposes unworthiness in receiving the gift.

If the Eucharist is sacrifice and a thanksgiving, we must therefore render thanks not just in words but also to strip ourselves like Jesus, who stripped Himself of His divinity and became a slave for others. We too need to be servants of others, not just servants but humble servants. Many of us want to serve but we do not serve with humility. What the Lord demands of us is that we not only give ourselves in sacrifice to others but we must serve humbly like servants, not like princes and princesses.

Indeed, we are called to be what we have received. We pray in the responsorial psalm, “The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.” St Paul also said, “This means that every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” We are called to be a sacrifice for others like Jesus. We are called to share in the sufferings of others, just as Christ shared in ours. We must give ourselves for the service of the world and make the Eucharist ours. This is what He meant. “Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me.” We must shed our blood and give up our body for the salvation of the world. To save ourselves, we must save others. The fruit of the Eucharist is always fraternal charity. For this reason, we cannot receive the Eucharist when we are not forgiving towards our enemies; when we do not serve the poor, the lonely and the marginalized.

How can we continue to make His sacrifice our own? By contemplating on His love in the paschal mystery. Hence, the Church encourages us to spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after Mass, meditate on the passion on Good Friday, silent contemplation on Holy Saturday and renewal of baptism vows on Easter Vigil and living the new life in Christ.