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Gospel: John 13: 1-15
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him,
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Simon Peter said to him,
“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Jesus said to him,
“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all.”
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Feet are the movers of the body. They take us where we want to go – and stop us from going where we don’t.
Tonight, I will wash the feet of ten youngsters who participate in our faith formation program. They’ve used their feet to bring their bodies – and by extension, their hearts – here tonight.
We begin by welcoming them – as well as their parents, and all of you present this evening.
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We are now entering into the final hours of Christ’s life on earth. As he kneels down to wash his disciples’ feet, the power of his heart is revealed.
In ancient Palestine, washing a person’s feet was an ordinary gesture before entering a person’s home. In dry weather, the roads could be inches deep in dust. After the spring rains, they’d be mushy and muddy. Understandably, people’s feet got dirty.
But notice that not one of the disciples steps forward to do the customary washing. Within the shadow of the cross, they’re too busy arguing about who is the greatest. So, the Lord takes off his outer garments, kneels down, and leads by example.
This gesture not only grants the disciples access into their host’s home for the evening; on a deeper level, the Lord is also welcoming them into his sorrow, into his heart, even into the priesthood.
We will see as the evening unfolds, the more people hurt Jesus, the more he will love them.
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A prime example is Judas.
Judas spent the last three years of his life observing the Lord. He listened to Christ’s sermons, witnessed miraculous healings, and saw first-hand the compassion Jesus had for those who suffered – widows, lepers, the blind, the paralyzed, even the dead.
In spite of this, Judas is preparing to hand Jesus over for thirty lousy pieces of silver – and Jesus knows this!
With this knowledge in mind, the Lord kneels down and washes his feet. Then at supper, Jesus feeds Judas with a morsel of his very own Body.
As the Gospel tells us, “Jesus dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So, Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’”
With the exception of the Apostle John, the other disciples will also abandon the Lord. Yet he kneels down and washes their feet, then feeds them with his very Self, as well.
The more people hurt Jesus, the more he loves them.
This truth continues unfolding at the Cross. After being betrayed by a kiss, arrested, repeatedly lashed with a whip, spit upon, and crowned with thorns, Jesus is nailed to a tree.
Beaten and bloodied, he cries out from the depths of his heart, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.”
The more people hurt Jesus, the more he loves them.
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It’s so easy – seemingly natural – for us to react in the opposite way. When hurt, we become resentful or bitter. When betrayed, we plot revenge. But when these things happened to Jesus, he loves them all the more.
Any time we stand before him – regardless of where our feet have taken us – Jesus kneels down and bathes us in forgiveness.
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Imagine doing this to others.
Picture someone who’s hurt or disappointed you. Even someone who’s betrayed you. Can you kneel down and wash their feet?
Left to our own nature, it seems impossible.
We need the heart of Christ.
Devout Jews longed for this divine love in the Old Testament. Perhaps the most famous – and important – of all of them was King David, who prayed to the LORD after committing adultery and murder:
“You love truth in the heart. Then in the secret of my heart, teach me wisdom. Purify me, then I shall be clean. Wash me, then I shall be whiter than snow… A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me.”
David longed for the heart of Christ – a heart that bled for us on the cross. A heart that seeks to merge our lives with his.
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As I kneel down to wash these youngsters’ feet, imagine the Lord washing yours. Then pray for the grace to do the same to others.
As Jesus says, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
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Image credits: (1) Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet, Ford Madox Brown (2) Ibid. (3) America Magazine