Holy Thursday
\nExodus 12:1-8, 11-14
\nPsalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
\n1 Corinthians 11:23-26
\nJohn 13:1-13
\nMarch 24, 2016<\/p>\n
Last Sunday we celebrated Jesus\u2019 entry into Jerusalem, recalling the royal welcome He received.\u00a0 Jesus had probably been to Jerusalem numerous times in his live but this was not just a random trip into the city.\u00a0 Jesus, along with many others, was coming to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration at the Temple.<\/p>\n
The Passover is one of the key feasts for the Jews.\u00a0 God had given instructions that this should stand at the head of their calendar.\u00a0 They are told to celebrate it as a \u201cmemorial feast<\/em>\u201d and \u201cperpetual institution<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n As such, it was celebrated each year beginning when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.\u00a0 As a \u201cmemorial\u201d it was a celebration of the first Passover when God lead the Israelites out of Egypt.\u00a0 One of the key images of that first Passover are the lambs that were sacrificed.\u00a0 The lamb was so important that not just any lamb would do.\u00a0 It had to be a lamb without blemish.<\/p>\n Raised as a Jew, Jesus would have celebrated Passover each and every year.\u00a0 Now He takes the Passover and builds upon it.\u00a0 Jesus takes the unleavened bread and wine and transubstantiates them into his Body and Blood.<\/p>\n We know this from the accounts of the Last Supper as told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, as well as what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 words are clear in scripture, \u201cThis is my body\u2026.This cup is the new covenant in my blood<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n It is the Eucharist, a powerful gift to us.<\/p>\n Jesus also says \u201cDo this in remembrance of me<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The Eucharist was never meant to be celebrated just once.\u00a0 We are to do it over and over.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because we need<\/em><\/strong> to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus to strengthen to become what we receive.<\/p>\n What does it take to celebrate the Eucharist?<\/p>\n Well, we need bread and wine.\u00a0 The bread must be unleavened because the bread had not had time to rise at the first Passover.<\/p>\n We need an altar to celebrate the Eucharist on.\u00a0 The altar is a table around which we celebrate a meal but not just any meal, but the Eucharistic meal.\u00a0 It is not just any table.\u00a0 As an altar, it is a place of sacrifice but not a new sacrifice.\u00a0 What we celebrate at the altar is the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.\u00a0 Jesus becomes the unblemished lamb.<\/p>\n Of course, we need people.\u00a0 What would a meal be without people to receive the meal?\u00a0 We need people in the pews.\u00a0 We need readers and servers.\u00a0 We need ushers and musicians.<\/p>\n And if we are to celebrate the Eucharist, we need a priest.<\/p>\n This is the role I am here for, to serve as your priest.\u00a0 As the priest, I am uniquely dressed in robes.\u00a0 The vestments I wear do not make me better than anyone else.\u00a0 I say this because in Jesus\u2019 day many people dressed in robes claimed special status as priests but also as secular rulers.<\/p>\n Jesus was not concerned with status.\u00a0 In fact, he tears down barriers of status.\u00a0 The etiquette of the time say people of high status were to be served by slaves of lower status.\u00a0 Jesus turns that around to serve the needs of the people.<\/p>\n We see this as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples when society would have said it should be the other way around.\u00a0 As Jesus does this, He takes off his robe.\u00a0 In doing so He removes the most visible sign of status.<\/p>\n In a few minutes I will wash the feet of twelve of our parishioners.\u00a0 I used to think of the washing of the feet as a nice reminder of what Jesus did.\u00a0 Since becoming a pastor, I have come to realize it is much more than a simple model to follow…<\/p>\n After He had finished washing their feet, Jesus said to his disciples, \u201cDo you realize what I have done for you<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 Of course they would have known Jesus washed their feet.\u00a0 In the custom of the day, the foot washing was done as a person entered your house to clean the dirt and sand from their feet.\u00a0 They would have known that too.\u00a0 Jesus is trying to show them something more.\u00a0 Jesus is showing them a \u201cmodel<\/em>\u201d of service.<\/p>\n As a priest I am called to serve the needs of all of the parishioners of our parish.\u00a0 The twelve who come up for the foot washing represent everyone in our parish.<\/p>\n In much of what I do as a priest, I try to make eye contact with the people before me.\u00a0 The foot washing is one exception to this.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t start this intentionally.\u00a0 As first, as I moved from person to person, it just seemed easier to keep moving along without looking up at each person.\u00a0 If I looked up to make eye contact, I would see one person.\u00a0 In looking at their feet, I see the parish I serve.<\/p>\n This idea of service is very important to me.\u00a0 It is why I believe all priests all priests need to be celibate.\u00a0 I could not serve the way I do as a priest and<\/em> be a good husband and a good father.\u00a0 It is a sacrifice.\u00a0 It helps me to serve as Jesus has called me, to celebrate the sacraments and to lead according to Jesus\u2019 example and not my own desires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Holy Thursday Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-13 March 24, 2016 Last Sunday we celebrated Jesus\u2019 entry into Jerusalem, recalling the royal welcome He received.\u00a0 Jesus had probably been to Jerusalem numerous times in his live but this was not just a random trip into the city.\u00a0 Jesus, along …<\/p>\n