HOLY THURSDAY-YEAR
–C
CELEBRATION OF THE
LORD’S SUPPER
(THE LAST SUPPER OF
JESUS)
I Reading:
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
II Reading: 1
Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel: John
13: 1-15
We have gathered this evening
not as individuals but as a family to commemorate the Last Supper or the Last
Meal of our Lord Jesus on earth before on the night he suffered. He is in our
midst and we are around Him, as the twelve disciples were with Him. Jesus is
already in our midst though we cannot see him with our eyes of flesh, he
welcomes us at this very moment, repeating to us the very words he spoke to his
twelve disciples on that occasion. “I have eagerly desired to eat this meal
with you” (Lk 22:15).
On this Holy Thursday, Jesus
instituted the two sacraments: The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and the
sacrament of the Holy Priesthood.
We are lucky to have the
priests of the Lord to celebrate the Eucharist in this church daily and all
over the world to eat and drink the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ.
The readings of today speak
to us about the three groups of people:
1.
The Jewish family: God gave
instructions to the people of Israel through Moses to celebrate the most
important event of the year: The Passover Meal. That meal was meant to remind
them how their ancestors had been delivered from the slavery of Pharaoh in Egypt.
In celebrating the Passover, the eyes of the Jews were set on their past: they
praised God for the love he had shown to their ancestors.
2.
The group of the twelve disciples
around Jesus: The Gospel speaks of a new family created by Jesus and his twelve
disciples; who represent the new Israel and new people of God and the new
church.
At this time Jesus was
giving to the Passover Meal a new meaning. At his Last Supper, Jesus celebrated
a new deliverance, one he would carry out the next day on the cross: the
deliverance not just of one nation but of all mankind from the slavery of the devil;
he would obtain it at the price of his own blood. Jesus anticipated the
deliverance, so to say: he took bread, and by his power, he changed it into his
Body. He took a cup filled with wine and changed the wine into his own Blood.
He gave his Body and Blood to his disciples for them to eat and drink. He said
to them “Do this in memory of me.”
Jesus gave his twelve disciples the power to
do what he had just done. They were to do it time and again till he would
again, that is, until the end of time.
The word Eucharist
means thanksgiving. Jesus instituted it both to carry out the deliverance of
people from sin and to thank his Father for that same deliverance.
Jesus performed three
main actions at his Last Supper:
i)
He washed the feet of his twelve
disciples.
ii)
He instituted the Holy Eucharist and Priesthood.
iii)
He gave to his disciples the new
commandment of love.
These
three actions were meant to go inseparably together: service and love for the
brothers and sisters in the community were to precede and to follow the
celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
3.
The Christian community at Corinth:
In the second reading of today Paul rebukes his Christians of Corinth in strong
terms, because they did not celebrate the Eucharist the way the Lord had
commanded. There was something very wrong with their mutual love and lack of
concern for the poorer members of the community which was very harmful. That
moved Paul to warn them in the strongest terms: if they went on celebrating the
Eucharist without mutual love, their community was in very serious danger (1Cor
11:30).
The Eucharist is essential
to the life of the Christian community; without it, the Church would cease to
exist. The readings of today provide precious guidance for
the Christian community to celebrate the Eucharist the way Jesus wanted it
celebrated.
When celebrating the
Eucharist we should keep our mind fixed on the past, which is on the Last
Supper and on Jesus’ Passion, remembering that he saved us from the slavery of
sin at the cost of his life. We should also keep in mind in the present that
Jesus goes on with his work of setting us free of sin each time we celebrate
the Eucharist. We should also keep our thought fixed into the future, waiting
for his final coming when he will set us completely free, free for ever.
Christ wants us to celebrate
the Eucharist not individually but as a family (Ex 12:11). On this day we must
ask God to give us priests from our children in the believing Christian
families to carry out the mission of Jesus on this earth and to establish the
kingdom of God in the world especially in this parish church.
The Demonstration
of Royal Service, John 13: 1-17
The disciples had been
arguing over who would hold the leading positions in the government Jesus was
about to set up (cp. Lk 22:24; Mk 10:35-45, esp.v.41). They were caught up in
the ambition for position, power and authority. How the heart of Jesus must
have been cut! He had so little time left for them to learn that the way to
glory is through service and not through position and authority. it was
this that led Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet and to demonstrate what true
royalty is: serving others.
1.
In the Upper Room right before the
Passover (v.1)
2.
The impetus for royal service (v.1-2)
a. Knowing His time, His hour had come
b. Loving His followers to the very end
c. Knowing His enemies
3.
The extreme demonstration of royal
service (v.3-5)
a. Knowing His mission
b. Laying aside His outer clothing
c. Washing the disciples’ feet
4.
The prerequisite for royal
service: washing and cleaning (v.6-11)
a. Washing is misunderstood
b. Washing has a deeper meaning: spiritual cleansing
c. Washing is requested
d. Washing is thorough and permanent
e. Washing is not automatic nor by association
5.
The meaning of royal service
(v.12-14)
a. To serve Jesus as Teacher and Lord
b. To serve other believers royally, sacrificially, leading them to be
washed and cleansed
6.
The reasons for royal service
(v.15-17)
a. Because of Jesus’ example
b. Because believers are not as great as the Lord
c. Because of resulting joy
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