The Eucharist, Our Communion (Holy Thursday, 2021)

The bread we eat and the wine we drink, a participation in the Body and Blood of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 10:16) 

Introduction

I welcome you to the Mass of the Last Supper. At this mass of the Last Supper, we will commemorate Christ’s institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood which was a clear demonstration of His self-emptying love, of His self-abandonment for the entire humanity. Today is a special day for priests and for us Catholics who have special regard for the Eucharist. As we go home at the end of today’s celebration, we may choose to reflect more deeply on what Christ said to the disciples in John 13:12-15 after He had washed their feet: “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord - and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you”.   

 

Homily Proper

The first reading narrates the story of the first Jewish Passover meal which inaugurated Israelites’ freedom from Egypt. In the second reading, St Paul makes reference to the communal Eucharistic meal and what it should mean to the Corinthians. The gospel is an account of the last supper and the washing of the disciples’ feet. All of these readings have something to do with food or meal. And in each instance, a reference is being made to a family meal or communal meal.

 

For many years, the people of Israel suffered in Egypt and almost lost their uniqueness as a chosen people of Yahweh. In response to their anguish, God set off to deliver them from the Egyptian captivity. On the eve of their freedom, God said that He would do two things: first, He would PASS THROUGH the land of Egypt and strike down every Egyptian firstborn (both man and beast); and secondly, He would PASS OVER the houses of the Jews whose doors must have been smeared with the blood of the lambs slaughtered for the Passover Feast. The Passover Feast thus became a very significant event to them. 

In the second reading, we hear St Paul address the Christians in Corinth who were almost losing their uniqueness because of squabbles, altercations, factions and divisions (In 1 Cor. 3:4, some claimed to belong to Paul; some to Apollos; some to other factions; and so on). Unity was waning. St Paul told them that “as often as they eat the bread and drink the chalice, they proclaim the Lord’s death”. Christ’s death brought about reconciliation, not division. In Eph. 2:14-16, St Paul teaches that “by His death on the cross, Christ has brought down the wall of division separating us from one another and has reconciled us to God and to one another.” This is what they should continue to remember and proclaim whenever they gathered for the Eucharist. And that is why in 1 Cor. 10:16-17 St Paul said: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is One Bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the One Bread.” 

The Eucharistic meal is meant to foster unity and communion. That is why it is called COMMUNION. It thus becomes very scandalous to hear that Christians come together to partake of the Communion and still allow hatred, factions and disunity to continue to fester in their midst (cf. 1 Cor. 11:17-18). 

In the last supper, Jesus blessed bread and wine and offered them to His disciples as His Body and Blood. By this act, He offered Himself to them whole and entire. To demonstrate what He meant, He rose from table and began to wash their feet. Now, the act of washing people’s feet is a clear gesture of acceptance in the Jewish culture, and is mostly done by slaves. Secondly, the act of washing people’s feet is particularly characteristic of the Jewish priesthood. So, by washing the feet of His disciples, Jesus presented himself as a SLAVE and as a PRIEST. 

By washing their feet, Christ showed them that He not only offers Himself to them but accepts them as they are; not just as disciples but as friends. “I call you friends, not servants any longer” (cf. Jn. 15:15). With us, Christ has established a relationship of true friendship, not a master-disciple dictatorship. True friends tolerate themselves more than a master can tolerate a disciple. Friendship with Christ is not the “Hello-Hi” kind of friendship where deeper affairs are not entertained. It is not a business-friendship which is more of business deals. It is not an academic-partnership which rarely goes beyond academic discussions. To be friends with Christ is to have a space to share deeper realities with Him: our pains, sorrows, joys and triumphs. He has given Himself to us in a very intimate manner, not minding the betrayals and denials that may come from us. 

He asks us once again, “Do you know what I have done for you? If I your teacher could wash your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. Go and do as I have done! Go and become true friends to one another. Go and become servants to one another. Go and become priests to one another”.