Holy Thursday / Maundy Thursday

DaVinci's painting of the Last Supper looks nothing like the one at the left. He has the apostles and Jesus sitting at a very ordinary table  that  you might find in a well appointed home perhaps in Italy in the middle ages. But our picture shows how the Jews were to eat the Passover meal. They were to eat like free people, reclining at table. The Seder was a meal that was to celebrate the freedom from slavery that God gave to his chosen people.  One of the most important lessons that was given to us at this Last Supper took place before the more solemn moments we will talk about later, but it too was a solemn moment. 

The people of Judea lived in a dusty climate. They wore sandals and the dust and dirt of the street would dirty their feet. The lowest servant of the house would be tasked to wash the feet of the guests as they arrived. It was both a thoughtful gesture and it served to keep the house clean.  A lad did not go and tell his father that his ambition was to be a foot washing servant.  This was not a job that one would aspire to. So imagine their surprise when Jesus took up the pitcher and bowl and towel and began to wash the feet of his disciples.  To them Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah that the nation had been waiting for.  He was their teacher and their lord.  For him to was their feet was am affront to his dignity. But Jesus often did things that they did not understand so they meekly acquiesced to this strange thing.  The Jesus got to Simon Peter, the appointed head of their merry little band.  Peter had a lot of faith in Jesus.  He got out of a boat and walked to Jesus on the water and he was fine until his faith kind of left him for a moment and Jesus had to rescue him.  Today, at the most holy meal of the year for the ancient Jews, Jesus was stepping down, in Peter's opinion from a place of prominence to the lowest place a person could be, from God to a foot washing servant.  When Jesus came to Peter, he refused to let the Lord wash his feet. Jesus said to him that what he was doing Peter would understand later. Peter for his part stayed obstinate and kept his feet tucked behind him.  Jesus then told Peter if he did not allow this, Peter would no longer be a disciple. Peter, you have to love him for his exuberance, realized what he had to do and allowed Jesus, God on earth, to wash his feet. Jesus then delivered his mandate that we should wash the feet of others and that the greatest among them should serve as the least just as Jesus, the Son of God had done.  The meal continued. 

Then Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it and said, "This is my Body." They took and ate it  He then took the cup of wine and said, "This is my blood."  They each drank from the cup.  He then said "Do this in memory of me."  They now understood what Jesus had done. They gave us the New Passover which would be their legacy to pass on to all other believers.  The things they had heard along the Sea of Galilee now made sense. They would have the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ to feed them and keep them through the countless generations that would pass before Christ returned in glory. 

The ritual of Passover mandated that four cups of wine be shared. After the third cup a song was sung, the Great Hall El - which was Psalms 113 to 118.  After that a fourth cup would close the Seder but it was at this point that Jesus changed things. He arose and they went out into the night , heading for the Mount of Olives.  We will cover more of this tomorrow when we discuss what happened of Good Friday. 

Catholics call today Holy Thursday and Protestants call it Maundy Thursday. Maundy means Mandated. Jesus on this date mandated that we Christians wash each others feet. It also means that we are to be loving and kind.  We should fall over each other not to get to the position of power but we should fall over each other in doing acts of kindness to one another and to those outside of the Christian community.  

Today, as we enter into the Sacred Mysteries of Holy Thursday let us remember Jesus, the Son of God, stooping low to wash the dirty feet of the Apostles.  With this example we should be proud to serve one another.