Holy Thursday,
Mass of the Lord’s Supper
(Exodus 12:1-8.11-14; I Corinthians 11:23-26; John
13:1-15)
It has been noted that the Eucharist celebrated today has
no ending. Rather, after Communion, the
Blessed Sacrament is exposed for continuing reflection. Similarly, the service conducted tomorrow
does not begin with an introduction, nor does it end with the usual blessing
and sending forth. And then on Saturday,
there is likewise no greeting as the liturgy gets underway; there is only an
exhortation about participating reverently.
The Church deliberately designs the services in this way to teach that
Christ’s Eucharistic meal, his passion and death, and his resurrection are but
one saving event for all to partake in.
At the heart of today’s gospel Jesus washes the feet of
his disciples. It is a symbolic action
to be emulated not just by the priest once a year but, much more to the point,
by all Christians every day. It is accomplished
by ordinary service like ministers of Holy Communion visiting shut-ins or volunteers
driving an elderly person to his or her doctor.
People will regularly do these things for loved ones, but Jesus has in
mind rendering similar service to virtual strangers. As his love extended to every person, so his
disciples’ love cannot be limited by prejudice or convenience.
We can take advantage of the time before the Eucharist
tonight to reflect on how we may render the service that Christ’s asks and to pray
for the grace to implement the plans we make.
If we find ourselves wondering whether we can do it, we should look
forward to the Passion of Christ which will be recalled tomorrow to consider
what Christ has done for us. We also might
anticipate the Easter service when we are assured of the strength to live out
the life to which he has called us.
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