Readings:
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15
For this is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you, do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it do this as a memorial of me.‘
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist, he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter, ‘You shall never wash my feet’. Jesus replied. ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me’ … When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand,’ he said, ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am if. I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet.‘
John 13:3-8, 12-15
Today is called ‘Maundy Thursday’, ‘Maundy’ coming from the Latin word mandatum, meaning something put into the hand, a charge, a command. The command is, ‘You should wash each other’s feet’, and so in many churches there is a ritual washing of feet. Even this beautiful gesture causes controversy. Whose feet are to be washed and are they to be all men? Instead of foot washing, some churches have a ritual handwashing, the congregation filing up in pairs and washing one another’s hands, so that everyone is involved.
At first sight it seems strange that John’s description of the Last Supper should omit the institution of the Eucharist, the central theme of the other Gospel accounts, but in contemplating this passage we can begin to see that the washing of the feet and the breaking of bread both signify the same reality, namely that in Jesus, ‘the bread life’, God is giving himself to us. ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’ In some parts of the early Church, the washing of feet was celebrated as a sacrament.
The ritual of footwashing annoys many Christians, who feel it is farcical for domineering clergy to pretend they are servants. The Gospel accounts of the Last Supper can be reassuring for those who are irked by clerical domination. Not only do the Gospels describe at length the treachery of Judas and the betrayal of Peter, but Luke’s version adds that after the apostles received the Eucharist, they engaged in arguments as to who was the greatest among them. So Jesus understands the problem!
John prefaces his description with ‘Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands’. It is in that knowledge that he takes the towel and begins to wash their feet. This is a revelation of God, in Jesus, of a God who Unless we experience him as God who serves, ‘you can have nothing in common with me’.
At the end of his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius has a contemplation called Contemplation to attain the love of God. It includes the suggestion, ‘Consider how God works and labours for me in all creatures upon the face of the earth, how he conducts himself as one who labours. Thus, in the heavens, elements, the plants, the fruits, the cattle… he gives being, conserves them, confers life and sensation.’
Imagine yourself at the Last Supper and let Jesus wash your feet. What does he say to you as he labours? ‘You should have cleaned them properly before coming to me and you should have put on a clean pair of socks?’ Or he show distaste as he removes the dirt, point out the deformities, blame us for our footcare failures, and move on to more respectable feet? Or does he hold your feet as though they are precious, wash them gently and with compassion, smile at you as he does so, and apparently enjoy what he is doing? And hear him say to you at the end, ‘Care for those around you as I have cared for you.’
Prayer
In all that I experience, Lord, help me to recognize you labouring for me, so that filled with gratitude, I may act towards others with the generosity you show to me. We ask you this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen