Category: Uncategorized

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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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While on a visit to the United States in September 2015, Pope Francis visited a group of prisoners in Philadelphia.

He spoke to them as a shepherd interested in their relationship with God.

Though well aware that these men had caused others harm, Francis also understood that they were wounded; they needed their feet washed, too.

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At first glance, this gesture of washing someone’s feet seems normal, certainly in the days of Jesus.

Back then people didn’t travel in cars on well-paved roads. They walked on foot along dry and dusty paths. Often pebbles would get stuck in their sandals as they walked, cutting and bruising their feet.

We all know that feeling of having a pebble stuck in our sandal. It’s irritating and can hurt!

So, when guests arrived at someone’s home, it was customary to wash their feet. Nobody wanted to track dust and dirt – or bloodied feet – into another person’s home. 

But Peter senses this gesture has a much deeper meaning. 

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Perhaps it’s an image for life. Doesn’t life have a way of scraping our feet?

We are all journeying on different roads, roads that often leave their mark on us. Sometimes pebbles get caught in our sandal, cutting and bruising our feet.

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What are the pebbles caught in my sandal?

What has hurt or worn me down this year?

What has agitated or caused me pain?

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Maybe we’re disappointed in ourselves, thinking our faith was stronger than it seems to be. Perhaps we’re overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, financial burdens, or grief.

And hasn’t this pandemic – the sickness, the social distance, and the isolation – scraped all of our feet?

Jesus is here to pour water over our wounds, to soothe them with the aloe of his grace.

As Pope Francis reminded those prisoners in Philadelphia, when we approach the Lord, he doesn’t ask us where we’ve been or what we’ve done. He doesn’t dwell on our cuts and bruises. 

He simply kneels down and washes them, bathing us in his love.

The fact that we cannot demonstrate this gesture because of COVID this year only reflects how much we need it. We need a fresh start – a new beginning. We need clean feet.

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Still, can we embrace the meaning of being washed, of not judging where others have been, but bathing them in forgiveness instead?

So, how might I be an instrument of healing or reconciliation to those around me? How might I wash someone else’s feet?

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As we resume our journeys through life, other pebbles will get caught in our sandals. 

And when they do, we can turn to the Lord for healing, remembering that he has also given us an example to follow. 

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Gospel: Matthew 26: 14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, 
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, My appointed time draws near; 
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said, 
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
He said in reply,
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I’m fascinated by Christ.

Though he knows all things – he knows that Judas wants to betray him – he doesn’t give up on him.

Before Judas abandons the Lord, and the community that he’s been a part of for the last three years, Jesus sends him warning signs.

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The night begins with Jesus on knees, a towel wrapped around his waist. He leans down and washes his disciples’ feet, bathing them in love, including Judas. 

Then Jesus subtly warns Judas against carrying out this horrible deed, saying things like, “Not all of you are clean.”

And, “One of you will betray me,” as if the Lord is trying to prick his conscience. 

Then he feeds Judas – a sign of hospitality – handing him a morsel of bread, which we believe to have been Jesus’ very own Body. 

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Jesus washes Judas’ feet; he warns him; and he feeds him with his very Self. But Jesus will not take away his freedom. 

I can only imagine the heartbreak our Good Shepherd felt as he watched his sheep flee into the night.

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Similarly, how often does the Lord try to lead us away from temptation and into a life of faith?

He pricks our conscience, gives us his Word, feeds us with his own Body, places holy desires in our heart, and sends us friends along the way.

Do we listen to his voice?

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“I am the Good Shepherd,” Jesus says. “I know my sheep and they know me. They listen to my voice and follow me.”

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