In the Gospel of John, Yeshua tenderly washes the apostles' feet, then sits down and asks them, "Do you know what I have done for you?" (Jn 13:12) At the time, Simon (Cephas/Peter) and the apostles didn't really catch on to what was going on. But eventually, they did. And so can we.
Jesus (Yeshua) has shown us that we are to be servant leaders; we are to serve our brothers and sisters in humility and love - just as He did. In Holy Thursday Mass, we have the "washing of the feet" to commemorate this act. But what does it really mean, and why did Jesus wash the disciples' feet, not just serve a meal or do some other act of service?
We must do two things to unpack this gesture - one is the examine the physicality of it, and the other is to remember Jesus' time and place. Jesus took off his outer garment and wrapped a towel around his waist. Taking off an outer garment can symbolize getting ready to work (akin to "rolling up one's sleeves"), and it is also a gesture of intimacy, of removing a layer that separates one person from another. In this wood cut image, you can see Jesus' posture: He is on his knees, He is bent over. The posture itself is one of humility and even deference (imagine, the God who created the universe is hunched over in service to His most cherished creation!).
The other thing to know is that people in ancient Palestine didn't get pedis on a regular basis (duh!). They walked barefooted or with sandals in roads filled with dust, mud, and dung. It was a form of welcome and hospitality to have one's feet washed when one entered a home - but it was the gentile servants who did this act, not the host. So washing their feet - a dirty job reserved for non-Jewish servants - was not the most pleasant task. However, He did it with Love, and He did it with a heart to show us how we must serve one another - in humility, in perfection, in true charity (caritas). Our High Priest serving His people, as we are called to be a priestly people serving each other.
Some translations say "...what I have done to you?" We have been washed by God, caressed and made clean, in a precursor to the water that will flow from Messiah's side (the waters of Baptism) along with His Precious Blood (His Love for us outpoured for our redemption). Although the disciples are already "clean" (except for the one who will betray Jesus), they are still in need of KNOWING this. And knowing that their job will be to bring the Good News and Baptism to others in service to others. This kind of knowing is tied to physicality--feeling the Master's own hands cleansing their rough, worn skin. He tends to our souls with His own hands, His own outpouring of Love, so that we may be with Him in Eternity.
As I've said elsewhere on this blog, Jesus touched people; He physically touched people in healing and in teaching. He used parables of real life, experiential lessons in the Kingdom of God embedded in the very Creation we share. And in this same way, His touch brought home the lesson and the example of how we are to care for each other.
As I write this, Bl. Mother Teresa comes to mind, how she touched the unwanted and the dying, caring for them, saying that in each of them, she was touching and caring for Jesus, himself.
We have been made ready to follow Him as humble servants of each other, thereby loving God in our service. When we feed the hungry, comfort the grieving, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, we are rendering this to God, who is alive in every one of us. For we are One Body in Christ.
Jesus transformed the Passover sedar into communion with Him, and with the Trinity, when he instituted the Eucharist. This is My Body...this is My Blood. These aren't symbols of his body and blood, these are His very SELF given to us in love beyond human comprehension. He says with this Gift, Be one with Me, as I am one with the Father, and you shall be one with each other in Me. Abide in me, He asks us, begs us to accept Him so that we may have Life.
Last night, Holy Thursday Mass and reposing of the Blessed Sacrament was simple and beautiful at St. Peter's parish, where I worship. Despite feeling unwell most of the week, I was able to stay in the "Garden" with Jesus for a little while after Mass. I will forever associate this with my first experience on Maundy Thursday in the Garden at St. Jude's Anglican Church in Burbank. It was that first Holy Thursday after my reversion/Resurrection experience that I felt the presence of Christ, nearer than my own breath, as I ventured to stay with Him in the Garden of my soul, wearied and broken as I was (and am).
How Jesus suffered in His Agony... "He told them, 'My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'" Matt 26:38
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