Homily of Holy Thursday, 2021
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14; Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15
Holy Thursday begins the three days’ liturgical celebrations of one great festival recounting the last three days of Jesus' life on earth, the events of his passion, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. The festival is called the Sacred Paschal Triduum. Triduum is a word formed from two Latin words: 'tri' meaning ‘three’ and 'dies' meaning ‘day.’ A triduum is a three-day period of prayer.
Yesterday, Holy Wednesday, is sometimes called ‘Spy Wednesday.’ It is so called because as at Holy Wednesday, Judas Iscariot was no longer a true disciple. He had resolved to betray Jesus. He was spying and seeking the opportunity to hand Jesus over to the chief priests (Matthew 26:14-16).
Three major events took place on Holy Thursday:
First event, with the Last Supper, Jesus established the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is, generally, said that Jesus celebrated the first Mass on Holy Thursday. We read in the second reading, “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). By Jesus’ proclamation, “This is my body,” “This is my blood,” we believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The Holy Mass is, also, the highest prayer of the Catholic Church. Quoting Lumen Gentium (No. 11) of Vatican II, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Eucharist is “the source and submit of the Christian life” (No. 1324). The Catechism maintains in No. 1327, “The Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith.”
Second event, on Holy Thursday, Jesus instituted the priesthood. The two actions of Jesus through which he instituted the apostles as priests are: (1) He commanded them, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (2) As we read in the Gospel, “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13:13). This is the reason Chrism Mass is traditionally celebrated on Holy Thursday when ministerial oils are blessed by the bishop, and priests renew their priestly commitment. Let us love and support our priests. Let us pray that priests may live out their priestly commitment. We pray for the increase in priestly vocation. We pray for seminarians and their formators. Someone says, “No priest, no Eucharist!”
Third event, Holy Thursday is also called “Maundy Thursday,” which can be translated as “Command Thursday,” or “Mandate Thursday.” The word 'Maundy' is derived from the Latin word 'mandatum,' meaning 'mandate.' Jesus commanded the apostles, “Do this in remembrance of me;” “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” God calls every Christian to royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) and mandates us to wash each other’s feet. This means to serve the Church and others humbly; and to serve the needy. We are called to wash dirty feet. The dirtier the feet we wash, the deeper our relationship with God.
The first reading narrates the feast of the first Passover which symbolized spiritual food for the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land. The Eucharist is our spiritual food for our journey of faith and our journey to eternal life. God commanded the Israelites to apply the blood of the lamb on the lintel of every house in order to be saved from the angel of death. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and has purchased us by his blood. St. Paul writes, “In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). In prayer, we surrender ourselves to Jesus to wash away our sins and our sorrows with his blood. We join Peter to implore Jesus to wash our feet, our hands, and our head. May he wash our souls and our entire bodies. May he heal us, deliver us, protect us and save us. Amen.
Fr. Martin Eke, MSP
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