St Mary's

In this powerful story, the writer of John’s Gospel is aware time is running out – Jesus’ life is about to be terminated. In this gospel, Jesus wants to reinforce all that he has taught, using more words seems superfluous, he performs an action which goes beyond mere words, and he performs an action which goes to the heart of the message.He gets up from table, removes his outer garments, gets on his hands and knees and washes the smelly dusty feet of his disciples.

An act of supreme service.

An act not easily forgotten.

He finishes with the words, “If I, then, your Teacher and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each others feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.”

Throughout the time of lent we have stressed the theme of going out into the wilderness, or getting in touch with the wilderness within. A theme captured in the early Lenten readings from the Old Testament, where, the God of Israel speaks to the people of Israel. God invites them to go out into the wilderness and it is there God promises to speak to their heart- the wilderness being the place of listening, where all is stripped away, where the distractions of the market place and city life are absent.

The place where in order to survive, one must be very attentive, to one’s surroundings. One cannot afford to be careless or unaware. A certain simplicity and humility must be adopted to survive.

The stark, sparse environment can strip the ego of all that is superfluous and superficial.

It is this state of being stripped back, a state of humility that Jesus invites us to adopt as we, strip back our outer garments and descend to our hands and knees and serve one another. And, as he demonstrates in washing his disciples’ feet, and in particular the feet of Judas, who is about to betray him. He washes with love and forgiveness, with gentleness and humility.

Johns’ Gospel does not have Jesus break bread and bless, or take wine and bless- the great act we hear in our Eucharistic prayer, to do in remembrance of him, or in his words, from John’s Gospel, to copy what I have done, is to wash feet in a state of humility.

Maybe if the Catholic Hierarchy had washed more feet, it may have been less into Power today and more into Humble Service.

Tonight we are invited as we have done for years, to wash one another’s feet as a symbol of our desire to serve one another in love; to be conscious of humility and letting go of ego that it takes to be truly present to another in loving service. This is truly the REAL PRESENCE we speak of when we enter into this mystery we call Eucharist.