Homily – Holy Thursday

March 28, 2013  Cycle C

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14    1 Corinthians 11:23-26    John 13:1-15

Many years ago some of us might remember that there was much to be made about manners around the dinner table.  The author, Emily Post, was all the rage.  And for those who grew up in that generation they knew that they could find her rules for etiquette to give them guidance.  The closest we have today is probably the ex-con Martha Stewart, who gives us advice on many areas from home decorating to table fashion.  My suspicion is that neither Emily, nor Martha, would approve of the dinner party that Jesus hosted for His friends.  If you really think about it the meal was put together hastily.  Instead of a professional caterer, Jesus just sent a couple of His disciples ahead to prepare the meal.  And again, remember, those were men.

The food was probably not all that great either.  After all Judas was in charge of the finances, and we know how tight he was.  They probably had to pick up some day old unleavened bread at Reuben’s Deli.  And then there was that seating arrangement.  Grown men reclining on couches, eating while everyone else presumably stood around.  And their feet were dirty!

Truly, Emily and Martha would have thrown up their hands in disbelief when, half-way through the meal, Jesus, the host, began to wash the feet of the disciples.  This was a task ordinarily performed by a servant.  This Jesus of Nazareth did not know how to host a party in the big city of Jerusalem!

And what a time to have a dinner party.  Jesus, the host, knows that in a short while He will take deliberate action that will bring to bear on Him all the power of the Jewish and Roman establishment.  Outside that little room, tension crackled like summer lightening.  The tension inside the room was no less.  Jesus knew He was about to be betrayed by one of His own.  Maybe even some of His own disciples knew. 

Jesus was not concerned about manners and social etiquette, as important as those things are in any society.  No, Jesus was thinking only about His disciples, His followers then and now.  In this intimate gathering He had come to share a few moments of closeness with those He loved.  He wanted to share for the last time the passionate love He had for each of them. 

The Gospel of John is quite clear that Jesus knew His hour had come.  But before the terrible events begin to unfold, Jesus wished to share with them not only a meal, but a profoundly symbolic gesture.  And Jesus knew the power of that symbol. 

In the later chapters of John’s Gospel he delivers a beautiful final discourse.  But at this point in the meal it is all dramatic and symbolic action.  Can you imagine what it must have been like to have your feet washed by this loving Jesus?  Why did He do it?  And what did it signify? 

First, the symbolic action points forward to Jesus’ own death.  Just as the Master bent down and washed His disciple’s feet, so He too would submit humbly to death out of love for them. 

And the second thing:  this symbolic action gives the disciples an example of what their own ministry must be like.  Not to be served, but to serve. 

But why did Jesus do this during the meal?  Customarily the feet of guests would be washed when they arrived.  It was customary for disciples to wash the feet of their Master, but not the other way around.  Why would you think Jesus did it in this way?

Maybe it was to underscore the importance of what He was trying to teach them.  Often times it is the dinner when something went wrong, or something unusual occurred that we remember best.  Think, for example, your last Thanksgiving dinner where perhaps the turkey was incinerated, or a glass of wine got spilled on the good linen.  I suspect that whenever the disciples gathered for a dinner thereafter they would say “Remember how at the point of the meal Jesus got up and washed our feet?  And remember how Peter said, “Not just my feet, but my hands and head as well.”  “And then someone, perhaps the youngest one present, would ask, “Why did He do that?”  And someone would say, “Because He loved us to the end.  Because He wanted to prepare us for what He and ourselves as well would have to undergo.  We did not understand it then, but we do now.”

In a few moments we will have the ritual washing of feet during this Eucharist.  Representatives from various organizations active in our parish community will come forward to have their feet washed.  No, their feet are not dirty, I hope.  No, we do this to recall what happened at the Last Supper that Jesus hosted so many years ago.  And like the disciples then, we ask “What does it mean?  Why?”  It means that we, like Jesus, like the disciples, must humbly accept the sufferings given to us, and we must serve others humbly and with undying love.

What a powerful symbol.  Don’t you think even Emily and Martha would approve?

Amen.  Amen. Msgr. Tom Adrians, Pastor Christ the King