Today we begin the Church’s Holy Triduum – 3 days of intense prayer, reflection and worship.
It’s intense because as we journey through the suffering and death of Jesus and into His resurrection, God is also going to enter into the depths of our being, and to bring out the love that He has planted in us.
It is a love that we sometimes are unaware of, a love that we take for granted, a love that we forget to show.
So the gospel begins by saying that Jesus had always loved those who were His, and now He showed how perfect His love was.
And as we have heard earlier, He got up from the table and he began to wash His disciples’ feet.
But why of all things wash the disciples’ feet. Why not like, pray over them? Or give them some kind of anointing?
Well obviously the disciples’ feet were not washed yet ; otherwise there was no need for it.
It was the customary practice to wash the feet, because of the dusty roads, before sitting down for a meal, and more so for the Passover meal, which is a holy meal.
Yet if the disciple’s feet were not washed then there was a reason. Usually they would have taken turns to be the foot-washer. But they were just waiting for one another to take on the humbling and lowly task of being the foot-washer. And not willing to be the foot-washer, they just sat there, and see who would finally give in.
Well, to be the foot-washer is to admit that you have lost out and you are only fit to do the lowly and dirty stuff.
Yet Jesus turned this stand-off around, and used it to show what the Eucharist means.
So He began to wash their feet. Big rough fishermen’s feet, tax collector’s feet, a Zealot’s feet, a doubter’s feet, the feet of a denier, the feet of a traitor.
Yet from their feet, He knew what was in their hearts. He knew that they will all get cold feet and flee when there is the threat of mortal danger.
One will betray Him, one will deny Him, but all will flee. Still He washed their feet.
Jesus washed the feet of His disciples so that later on they will understand why He did it.
They were fed with His Body and Blood but they fled when it came to the test.
But the next time they eat His Body and drink His Blood they will remember and stand firm and follow in His footsteps.
We too will eat His Body and drink His blood. May we also remember and stand firm and follow Jesus who came to serve and to sacrifice His life as a ransom for many.