20180329 THE CAPACITY TO LOVE
29 MARCH, 2018, Maundy Thursday
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First reading
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Exodus 12:1-8,11-14 ©
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The Passover is a day of festival for all generations, for ever
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The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
‘This month is to be the first of all the others for
you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and
say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the
flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is
too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to
his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what
each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal
without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or
goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole
assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two
evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and
the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be
eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter
herbs. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on
your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in
honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike
down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall
deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt, I am the Lord! The blood shall
serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass
over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of
Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate
it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a
day of festival, for ever.”’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 115(116):12-13,15-18 ©
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The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion
with the blood of Christ.
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.
The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion
with the blood of Christ.
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.
The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion
with the blood of Christ.
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.
The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion
with the blood of Christ.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ©
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Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are
proclaiming the death of the Lord
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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.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every
time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn13:34
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Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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John 13:1-15 ©
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Now he showed how perfect his love was
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It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that
the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always
loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love
was.
They were at
supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of
Simon, to betray him. 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 I 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.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon
Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one
who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over. You too are clean,
though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, that was why
he said, ‘though not all of you are.’
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. I have given you an example so that you may copy
what I have done to you.’
THE CAPACITY TO LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EX 12: 1-8, 11-14; PS 116:12-13,15-18; 1 COR 11: 23-26; JN 13: 1-15 ]
The Last
Supper Mass celebrated in the Catholic Liturgy is often reducible by many
Catholics to the Washing of Feet as this is the most visible and poignant part of the
liturgy. The message that most Catholics have in their minds is the call
to be like Jesus to wash the feet of others as He did. Rightly so because
the Lord said, “I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You,
then, should wash one another’s feet. I have set an example for you, so that
you will do just what I have done for you.”
Such a
perception of the liturgy today is not wrong. However, the emphasis is
not correct.
The crux of today’s celebration is not so much that we must imitate the example
of Jesus and serve like Him. Of course, this invitation is not excluded
but it is not the focus. Indeed, today is called Maundy Thursday.
Etymologically, this word is taken from the Latin “Mandatum”, which means
“commandment.” In the context of Holy Week, it refers specifically to the
commandment Jesus gave to His disciples whilst washing their feet. What
is this commandment? “I give you a new commandment, that you love one
another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (Jn 13:34)
So the emphasis is on Christ loving us first, so that in turn we can love one
another. St John expressed this in another way when he wrote, “In
this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much,
we also ought to love one another.” (1 Jn 4:10f)
Unless we get
this focus correct, we will end up frustrated or going contrary to what the
Lord desires of us. When our service is not rooted in His love for us, we end
up doing what the Lord had done for us, but using our own strength. As a
result, if we are able to do much good work, we will take the credit for
ourselves. We begin to think highly of what we do and boast of our
achievements. We become self-righteous, arrogant and proud in
service. Conversely if we are not able to be as generous as what the Lord
asks of us, and we fail in imitating His example of selfless service, we become
discouraged. We lose confidence in ourselves. We end up being
disgusted with our selfishness and self-centeredness.
For this
reason, the Last Supper Mass celebrates the gift of God in Christ Jesus.
Only by receiving this Gift first, can we then serve like our Lord. It is at the Last Supper
Mass that the love of God is fully demonstrated in anticipation of the death of
our Lord. The gospel begins with these words, “It was now the day before
the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this
world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his
own, and he loved them to the very end.” The Last Supper exemplified by
the Washing of Feet demonstrates in advance the Ultimate Gift of God, which is
the life of His own begotten Son. It shows forth the unconditional
love and mercy of God for us.
In the first
place, we have the act of Jesus bending down to wash the feet of His disciples
as an act of self-emptying. “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 wash basin and
began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his
waist.” This act of going down on his knees to wash the feet of His
disciples is a dramatic prophecy of how Christ emptied Himself, first of His
divinity by assuming our humanity, and then emptied Himself of His humanity and
became a slave unto death. (cf Phil 2:6-8)
So the washing of feet was in anticipation of His death on the cross when the
Lord was totally stripped of His dignity for the love of humanity.
Secondly,
Jesus came to show us His love by being a servant. He lived simply and amongst
the ordinary people. He came to serve, not to be
served. He came so that we can have life abundantly. He came to
heal us, set us free from our bondages and give us hope. Most of all, in
all His works and words, He wanted to reveal to us the love and forgiveness of
our heavenly Father. The washing of feet was an exemplification of His
own life of complete, humble and devoted service to His fellowmen. What
greater example can we have than to have a master stooping down to wash His
disciples’ and servants’ feet? How many of us would stoop so low as to
serve those who are much lower in status than us?
Thirdly,
Jesus came to show us the mercy of the Father by forgiving us our sins. The washing of the
feet was a kind of penitential service for the apostles so that they can
receive the Eucharist worthily. Jesus came to cleanse them of their
sins. He came to offer them forgiveness without questioning or making
conditions. For this reason, Jesus told Peter, “If I do not wash your
feet, you will no longer be my disciple.” In fact, they had already been
purified by the Word of God. Jesus said to them, “You have already been
cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.” (Jn 15:3)
The act of washing was a demonstration of this cleansing that had taken place
when they heard the Word spoken to them. So long as we are sincere, the
Lord is ever ready to forgive us, unless we are like Judas, intent on sinning
and rejecting His word.
Finally,
Jesus came to show His love and mercy for us by taking our sins upon
Himself. By our sins, we deserve death and punishment. However, the
Lord suffered in our stead. Precisely, St John the Baptist called Him the
‘Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’. This is what the Last
Supper celebrates, the sacrificial death of our Lord for the forgiveness of
sins. In the first reading, we read how the Israelites were asked to take
a sheep or a goat “but it must be a one-year-old male without any defects” to
be offered as a sacrifice. Then the blood of the lamb was put “on the doorposts
and above the doors of the houses.” In this way, when the angel of death
passes and sees the blood on the doorposts, their first-born would not be
harmed, unlike the Egyptians’. Jesus at Last Supper offered Himself as
well to be the sacrifice for our sins. He was the pure Lamb that was
slaughtered on the eve of the Passover for the atonement of our sins.
Jesus was the substitute for our sins. He died not just in favour of us
but in our place.
So
contemplating on His love and mercy for us, we are called to do likewise. This is what St Paul
said in the first reading. Jesus, after offering His body and blood,
invites us to do so in memory of Him. What does it mean to do this in
memory of Him? St Paul elaborates, “This means that every time you eat
this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he
comes.” In other words, we are called to give ourselves as Jesus did, by
emptying ourselves for others. We are called to make the sacrifice
of Christ at the mass our own sacrifice. How can we do that?
Firstly, we
must offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us as Jesus offered His
forgiveness to His apostles who would betray Him later. This was what the
disciples did after the resurrection when the Lord empowered them to grant
forgiveness to those who accepted Him. If we desire to receive God’s
forgiveness, then we must be ready to forgive completely those who have
offended us. Otherwise, the forgiveness of God would be thwarted as it is
only one-sided, that is, on the side of God. Nevertheless, we are not
totally healed even when He has forgiven us because we continue to allow
ourselves to be prisoners of our enemies. Unless we too wash their feet
and make them clean, we cannot participate in the death of our Lord, that is,
the sacrifice of the mass.
Secondly, we
must offer our lives in service from the love that the Lord has given to us. We serve not with our
own strength and merits but by the grace of His love. We are called to
empty ourselves in humble service to our fellowmen. It is not enough to
serve our fellowmen, but we must serve with humility, compassion and
unconditionally. Only humble service can touch the hearts of our
fellowmen. Unless we empty ourselves of our pride, we cannot be true servants of
the Lord.
Finally, we
must be ready to suffer for others, especially innocent suffering.
Christ’s death was an innocent death. This is what St Peter said, “For to this you have been
called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that
you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found
in his mouth.’ (1 Pt 2:21f) When we suffer innocently for others,
because we have been wrongly judged, slandered, misunderstood and ridiculed,
then we could truly say that we have made the sacrificial death of Jesus our
own. When we suffer for others, helping them and alleviating their
sufferings, then we too proclaim His death and most of all, by our sufferings
for them, we bring about healing and reconciliation.
Indeed, today
when we celebrate Maundy Thursday, let us manifest our desire to show forth the
love and mercy of God in our own lives by following Jesus in emptying Himself
completely, showing how perfect His love is for us. In this way, when we
celebrate the Eucharist, we could truly say that we are “doing this in memory”
of Him, not just by attending Mass but by living out the mass in our
life. As the Lord said, “By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:35)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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