THE gospel of St. John says that Jesus foretold the work he was going to accomplish in the world and the glory that would be given him after he would be “raised on high”. Now Jesus’ hour has come, in which he will realize all that was announced.
Then Jesus gave his farewell discourse at the Last Supper. It begins with a miracle, his extraordinary act of the “washing of the feet”. It contains two lessons: the need to purify ourselves before participating in the supper of the Lord. And how is the commitment of love to be put into practice.
The Gospel of John does not narrate the institution of the Eucharist, but the washing of the feet and what follows may be seen as an obscure allusion to the Eucharist.
He began to wash their feet. The poor among the Jews walked barefoot while the rest wore sandals. A traditional gesture of welcome was to order a servant to wash the feet of the traveler. The apostles did not have servants, but that right Jesus chose to be their servant.
Jesus did not intend merely to make the apostles clean and comfortable. His washing of their feet was a sacred act that symbolized purifying them just as baptism does. The apostles were already in the grace of God, the word of Jesus that they received with faith had purified them. They needed more preparation, however, before sharing the bread of life at the table of their Lord. All religions observe some preparations or purification rites before offering sacred things to their members, Jews, for example observed purification rites in the Passover meal.
Jesus was no less demanding, he himself washed the feet of his apostles. He did not ask them to confess their sins, all he wanted was that they would humbly allow him, their Lord, to wash their feet.
This act reminds us at once of the sacraments of Baptism and Penance. There, bonds of humility and mercy are forged both for the one who purifies and for those purified. Henceforth the apostles will do what their Lord did before them, since he will send them in his name to forgive sins. They are not to act as hierarchical officials or judges granting pardon to sinners but to take the first step to humility and mercy, in order to likewise purify those who approach the supper of the Lord.
The word Lord appears seven times in this chapter. With this in mind we understand that by washing the feet of his apostles Jesus performed a significant act which shows us, in a most surprising way, who our Lord God is, and how He acts.
May we act in a similar way this Holy Week.
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