If the Covid-19 pandemic had happened in the time of Jesus, then there might be no Last Supper and no institution of the Eucharist.
But Covid-19 happened in our time, and we cannot go to church to commemorate the Institution of the Eucharist and to receive Communion.
To think that on this special day, we can’t go for Mass and receive Holy Communion may make us feel rather depressed and sad.
But even though we may be deprived of the Eucharist we are certainly not deprived of the Word of God.
The gospel passage begins like this: “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 are His in this world, but now He showed how perfect His Love was.
It is truly a consolation and to know that Jesus had always loved us and that we belong to him.
And it is in such difficult and depressing times that Jesus wants to show how much He loves us.
Though we can’t have the Eucharist to experience that love of Jesus, we have His Word.
So we must read the gospel and look deeper at it to understand how Jesus is loving us.
We read that Jesus, while at supper, He took a towel and a basin of water and He began to wash the feet of His disciples.
Although nothing was said about the institution of the Eucharist, although that is mentioned in the 2nd reading, the act of washing the disciples’ feet expresses what the Eucharist is all about, and that is, service and sacrifice.
Jesus laid aside His role as Master, and that is sacrifice. And He washed His disciples’ feet, and that is service.
So during this time when we have to be confined or stay at home in order to curb the spreading of the virus, the Eucharist is, in a way, going to be instituted right here in our homes and with our families.
At home and with our families for the many days to come, we will have to make sacrifices and be prepared to serve instead of being served.
We will have to sacrifice what we like and what we want, and that is what Jesus did at the Last Supper.
And following Jesus our Master, who came to serve and not to be served, we too must serve our family members with patience, kindness, compassion, understanding and love.
And we need to beware of the devil’s temptations and not to be like Judas Iscariot who eventually betrayed Jesus.
The letter to be Ephesians (chapter 4 verse 26 to 27) has this to say: Do not let resentment lead you into sin. The sunset must not find you still angry. Do not give the devil his opportunity.
So we must not give into resentment. Rather we strive for reconciliation and healing of relationships with our family members so that our homes can become like churches where God dwells and where God gives His Blessings.
Let the spirit of the Eucharist be in our homes, let us make sacrifices for each other, and let us serve each other, and we will see how much Jesus loves us.