Mass of the Lord’s Supper Yrs A B C 2026
Easter Triduum • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsTaking one theme from John’s rich passage let us focus on Jesus’ washing of feet. John stresses his knowing his exalted status, then depicts him laying it aside for a slave’s zero honor status and he washes feet. Peter at first will not accept this, but Jesus insists that it is necessary to be clean. They are washed in baptism, but need cleaning. This speaks of confession, and also at the Lord’s Supper that the disciples would not get at that point, and also when we forgive others or pray the chaplet of divine mercy for them that includes praying for us. Jesus says that this is a model for us; we need to do it to be one with him. Let us do as he instructed. Let us be found beside him.
Notes
Transcript
Title
Title
He Humbled Himself
Outline
Outline
There is so much in these texts that I want to focus on just one theme
There is so much in these texts that I want to focus on just one theme
After all, these texts are both familiar and deep and we know we will be back next year.
What fascinated me this year is this single theme
He humbled himself
He humbled himself
It is not so much in the triumphal entry that Jesus humbled himself, for he appeared as the Hasmonean kings did coming to be crowned, but here at the last supper.
John does not mention the Last Supper here, for he has covered the topic in chapter 6, but while it certainly speaks of self-giving, the disciples do not get it until after the resurrection and Jesus knows that.
So Jesus “fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God,” that is fully aware of his divine status, does the unthinkable. He takes off his poncho, the outer garment you wore outside the house, and then his cheiton, the inner garment, and wraps a long towel around his waist like a lower class slave. In other words he takes on a zero honor status, for slaves had no honor. John underlines this in his description and then goes on to describe his doing the slave’s job of washing feet, symbolic for sure as he will later explain to Peter.
Peter is horrified. This is the king. Jesus is lowering the office of the king to the lowest level. Peter will have not part of it.
No, Peter, says Jesus, either I do this or “you have no inheritance with me.” You need to come down here with me to be under the king.
That is enough to make Peter all in: “my hands and my head as well!” No, says Jesus, you have bathed. Just your feet. You have been baptized, just your feet.
Let Jesus give us the application
Let Jesus give us the application
He points out that he knows and they know who he is: “teach” and “master” and he could have said more than that. High honor status. He has gone down to a zero honor status to wash our feet, so we ought to do. It is a model for us to follow, a model we resist as much as Peter.
There are many ways we work this out, but I experienced it on Monday at St William when hundreds came to confession. There would be three shifts of about 13 priests. We got to wash feet in the person of Jesus, we got to give a bit of advice on how to stay clean too. We did not chide, “What, you again?” “What, you came to confession three days ago?” We washed feet.
The same takes place in the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper.
And it takes place when we forgive others and pray the chaplet of divine mercy for them.
But perhaps in tune with John we shout focus on confession.
Jesus says, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Let us do as he instructed. Let us be found beside him.
