HOLY THURSDAY-YEAR –B
CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
(THE LAST SUPPER OF JESUS)
I
Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14: Instruction concerning the Passover meal.
II Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26: Every time you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord.
Gospel: John 13: 1-15: Now he showed how perfect his love was.
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.
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.”
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.
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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