At the heart of the Holy Week we encounter Holy Thursday, a day defined by the celebration of the paschal supper of Jesus with his disciples, and the promulgation of the Commandment of Love. This is, no doubt, a heartbreaking day, in which the drama that is going to unfold in the coming days is being anticipated.
Today’s liturgy revolves around Memory: the reading of the book of Exodus remembers the salvific action of God in Egypt; Saint Paul in his letter remembers the last supper of Jesus; and Saint John in the Gospel remembers the washing of the feet and the example of service that Jesus established with his disciples. The Eucharist is therefore instituted as a remembrance, underlined by the following words: “Do this in memory of me”.
Those of us who are taking part today and any other day in a eucharistic celebration are being summoned to reenact “this”, which is no other thing than a life devoted to the service of our neighbor, serving, and not being served, the life of the one who “loved us to the end”, as today’s Gospel tells us.
The last supper defines therefore Love as Service, not as Sacrifice, for the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross was given once and for all and does not need repetition. True Christian worship is not, as one may think, the celebration of rites and sacraments, but the loving care of our neighbor which is being carried out as gratitude for the Love received. “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.”
The most powerful homily of Jesus are his actions, beyond his words, for he preaches with his deeds: the washing of the feet shows us the way towards evangelizing, which is living in service and preaching with our example, with prophetic gestures, full of the tenderness and humility that this passage in the Gospel of John depicts.
This Holy Thursday we are invited to commit with the true Christian worship: serving our neighbor, not in the temple, nor at the altar, but kneeling in front of those who walk with us the journey of life.
