Homily - 1 April 2010

I'm sorry for the delayed posting here. I forgot to post it last night and when I tried to do so earlier today Blogger wasn't working properly.

Holy Thursday
The Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Dear brothers and sisters,

This evening we have gathered in the Upper Room for the Cena Domini, the supper of the Lord. In a short while we will follow Jesus from this Upper Room to the Mount of Olives to watch and pray with him that we might not undergo the test (cf. Luke 22:46).

Before we set out on this pilgrimage we ought first consider the words exchanged between Peter and Jesus during the course of the meal.

The other disciples allowed Jesus to wash their feet without objection; Peter, on the other hand, objected. It seems likely that the rest of the Twelve were uncomfortable with Jesus washing their feet; he was, after all, their teacher and master and they his disciples (cf. John 13:13). Why, then, is Peter the only one to object?

It might be said that Peter often objected to Jesus, not to be argumentative but because of the love he bore his master. When first the Lord approached Peter on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret, the fisherman said to him, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). Even at that first encounter Peter knew he was not worthy of friendship with Jesus, yet Jesus desired his friendship nonetheless, saying to him in response, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 5:10).

From that moment on it seems Peter took the Lord at his word, rarely shying away from telling Jesus what he really thought. As one key example, we need only look to the time when Jesus first predicted his Passion to the Twelve. It was Peter – and not the others – who took him aside and objected: “God forbid, Lord,” he said! “No such thing shall ever happen to you” (Matthew 16:22).

And now, as Jesus kneels before him, Peter objects to the Lord’s act of humble love, asking, “Master, are you going to wash my feet” (John 13:6)?

Even when Jesus tells him he will understand what he is doing in time, Peter remains adamant: “You will never wash my feet” (John 13:8).

Peter refused not because of his pride but because of the reverence he held for the Lord Jesus; his objections were meant to honor Jesus. Even if he did not fully understand, Peter recognized the truth of Jesus’ identity. Of all of the Twelve, it was Peter who asked the question Jesus addressed to them: “But who do you say that I am” (Matthew 16:15)? It was Simon Peter who answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

Looking at Jesus kneeling before him I suspect Peter wanted to repeat those first words he spoke to Jesus: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Peter knew his own unworthiness and, what is more, the thought must surely have occurred to him that he had never offered to wash Jesus’ feet. He objected because Jesus was doing what he should instead be doing; it was his love for and devotion to Jesus that lead him to say, “You will never wash my feet.”

Recognizing Peter’s love, Jesus calmly responds, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me” (John 13:8). Hearing these words, Peter relents and says, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well” (John 13:9). Above all else, Peter desired friendship with Jesus and if it meant he had to let the Lord humble himself to keep his friendship, he would do so.

Will we follow Peter’s example and allow the Lord to humble himself and wash our feet? Or are we afraid to reveal ourselves to him?

Tonight Peter shows us the path we, too, must follow by withholding nothing from the Lord. We, too, should desire the Lord’s friendship above all else, for Jesus desires our friendship just as he desired Peter’s. To us, as well, he says, “Do not be afraid. Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”

The Lord Jesus washed the feet of the Apostles to raise them up so that they would have a seat at his table; now they in turn must do the same to others, receiving from Jesus his very own ministry (cf. John 13:15). By washing their feet, Jesus prepared them for this sharing in his ministry by making their feet beautiful and worthy to carry the tidings of his victory over sin and death to all people through their preaching and through the Sacraments (cf. Isaiah 52:7).

Even now, the Lord wants to wash our feet, through the ministry of those who have a share in his ministry and who act in his name. He desires to make us clean, to give us a share in his inheritance of everlasting life, through the Sacrament of Penance that we might worthily partake of his Body and Blood.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us pray that our desire for the Lord’s friendship might be as strong as Peter’s. Let us pray that our desire for him will be so strong that we will allow the Lord to humble himself to wash our feet. Let us pray that we will desire his love and friendship above all else. Amen.