By. Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 – The Passover is a day of festival for all generations, or ever.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 115(116): 12-13, 15-18 – The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

Second 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 – Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and thus showed how perfect his love was.

The liturgy of this evening is best understood in the context of the Jewish Passover, celebrated on the night of the 14^th – 15^th of the Jewish month of Nisan (March or April). The Passover has been the principal feast of the Jewish calendar; and in the Bible, it is combined with the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, which is kept from the 15^th to the 21^st of Nisan. The Old Testament derives the name “Pẹsaḥ” from a Hebrew verb meaning “to limp” or “to jump”, and hence to jump over or to pass over (e.g. Ex. 12:27), referring to Yahweh’s “passing over” the house of the Israelites during the 10^th plague of Egypt.

Without going so deeply into the origin of the Jewish feast of the Passover, suffice it to state that the Feast of Unleavened Bread or Feast of Azymes (heb. ḥag hammaṣṣôt) was one of the three great agricultural pilgrimage feasts, along with the Hebrew Feasts of Pentecost and Booths (Tabernacles), that the Israelites adopted from the Canaanites after their entry into the promised land. It was celebrated at the beginning of the barley harvest. The avoidance of leaven was probably a symbol of the new beginning being made with the new harvest – nothing of the old year was to be retained when the new season began. Passover, on the other hand, appears (in the oldest, restricted sense) as a sacrifice and sacrificial meal of quite different significance and background. A lamb was sacrificed on the evening of the full moon in the month later called Nisan, and its blood was spread around the doorframes of homes. The meat was roasted and consumed that night with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Passover appears to be the spring festival of nomadic peoples when they sacrificed one of the firstlings of the flock in petition for an ensuing year of prosperity. We are all familiar with the description of the “first Passover” in Exodus 12 which relates the familiar story of the slaughter of the firstborn of Egypt and the destroying Angel’s “passing over” the houses of the Israelites as they feasted within their homes. It is said that the 7 days of Unleavened Bread commemorate the going out of Egypt. However, it is worth noting that the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread were actually combined into one festival during the time of centralization of the Israelite cult under Josiah, King of Judah (c. 640-609 B.C.).  He made the Shepherd Passover a pilgrimage festival as well. And as it nearly coincided in time with the Feast of the Unleavened Bread – and also in its connotations (the later recalling the hardships of the Israelites’ flight), the two were eventually held to be part of one festival.

By the time of Jesus, the Passover feast had already evolved considerably, but it was still held privately in homes. Among the rituals of the Passover seder (seder literally means ‘order’ or ‘arrangement’; and it refers to the ritual meal held privately in the home) was the Haggadah (story) that was told that night. When everything was set for the ceremony {including the three wafers of bread symbolizing the Kohen (priest), Levi (Levite) and Yisrael (Israelite) – together symbolizing the entire Jewish community – as well as 4 cups of wine and an extra 5^th called the ‘cup of Elijah’ which is not to be drunk until the coming of Elijah to prepare the way for the Messiah}, it begins with the blessing. The master of the house presides; and over the bread he prays: “This is the bread of poverty which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt. This year we are here; next year may we be in the land of Israel. This year we are slaves; next year may we free men”. It would then be the turn of the youngest one present to ask the dramatic question, “why is this night different from other nights?” In answer to this question, the master of the house reads main narrative of the Haggadah, recounting the events of the Exodus, and thus fulfilling the command of Ex. 13:8 to teach the children on Passover night

It is against this Jewish Passover background that one can gain insight into the meaning of Jesus’ action during the Last Supper. As the head of the family of the Apostles, he presided over the ceremony. But in taking the bread, he changed the haggadah: Instead of explaining it in the traditional words “this is the bread of poverty which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt”, he explained the bread in unheard-of words, “This is my body”; “This is my blood”. From now on, the ritual became for us Christians, a new one, commemorating not the exodus passage, but Jesus’ passage from earthly life through death to life with God and of the new covenant established by it. Although the Christian Eucharist retains its Jewish element as an ecclesial and memorial meal, when we celebrate it, we recall God’s wonderful work in Jesus Christ. Jesus even specifically commanded his disciples to “do this in memory of me”.

Besides changing the usual Jewish haggadah (story), Jesus also added another element during the celebration of the Last Supper – that of washing of the feet of the disciples. The washing of feet in itself and as such, was not new. It was a common practice during that period that people (especially travelers who, during that epoch, travelled on foot and used to have sore and aching feet) had their feet washed and well massaged in strategically located rest houses and inns. Thus refreshed, they could settle down to have their dinner. What was new was that it was normally the servants and slaves who provided these services, not the master of the house. Peter’s reaction was therefore understandable. But as Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) explained in his book “Journey towards Easter”, Jesus, by this action, is washing the soiled feet of humankind. As the Lord, he “accepts and carries out the service of a slave, performing a humble task – the lowest task in the world – to make us fit for table, open to one another and to God, to accustom us to the worship, to the nearness to God”. This is liberating. But it is left to us to say “yes” to the invitation to this liberating love of God. Ratzinger points out two instances in the Gospel in which people have refused this liberating love: the first is Judas, who, according to him, represents the person who does not want to be loved, who thinks only of possessing, who lives solely for material things. The second is Peter, who represents the devout person. As he puts it, this is the danger that “religious people” will not accept reality, nor the fact that they too have need of pardon, that their feet too are dirty. This is the danger in “pious” people thinking that they have no need of God’s goodness – the elder son in the parable of the Prodigal son comes under this category, just as Peter. But in this regard, he concluded that, “to be Christian means allowing our feet to be washed”.

Come to think of it! It is always much easier to step out with our innate pharisaic aura of righteousness to wash others’ feet, than to bring out our own to be washed. From the point of view of human nature, we always think that we are the clean ones and every other person is dirty. It requires a great dose of humility for an adult to bring out his/her feet to be washed. But as Ratzinger told us, to be Christian means precisely this: to allow our feet to be washed. Brethren, for us to have been identified as Christians imply that we do not (at least not by default) belong to the Judas’ group. It is presumed that we have not consciously refused the love of God. But I fear that many of us might belong to Peter’s group. In our false sense of holiness, we might be tempted, like Peter was, to think that preaching and homilies are destined to those we qualify as having not been “born again”. The symbolism of having our feet washed before the Eucharistic meal is to make us clean to sit at the table. It is important that all of us bear this in mind that, just as one does not rush to table to eat after returning from his/her farm but must first of all clean herself/himself up before eating, so also should we not rush to the table of the Eucharist without first having ourselves cleaned up. When St. Paul tells that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”, he did not exempt anybody. Therefore, all our feet are soiled and in need of washing.

Because of the coronavirus quarantine, this year’s Last Supper will no doubt be celebrated in the manner reminiscent of the Jewish Passover seder, i.e., in private homes. It might interest you to know that this was how the early Christians celebrated what, was later, to be called the Eucharist. They gathered in private homes and shared bread together and washed each other’s feet. As we are literally forced to remain in our individual families during this Passover celebration, let us strive to make maximum use of the opportunity it presents us to strengthen our family bonds. As the book of Exodus enjoins us to teach children on the Passover night, parents should endeavor to use this unique occasion to do the haggadah by practically teaching their children on the meaning of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Your children should be able to ask you that dramatic question: “why is this night different from other nights?” And you should be able to cease the opportunity to make them understand why you take them to Church every Sunday; and even why, for some time now, you have not been able to do so because of the coronavirus. May the Holy Spirit help each and every member of our families to come out of this quarantine more enlightened in our Christian faith and conviction! Amen.