John 5:31-47

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23

John 5:31-47

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have done marvelous things for us. As a good Father, you led us, your children, little by little into the mystery of redemptive sacrifice. The yearly sacrifice of the Passover Lamb was a symbol that pointed to the sacrifice of your only-begotten Son. Help me, on this Holy Thursday, to appreciate the depth of your love for me and all humanity.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Sacrificing Lambs at the First Passover: At the First Passover in Egypt, the Lord commanded that every family procure a year-old lamb and sacrifice it. This was actually a very dangerous thing for the Israelites to do. The Egyptians regarded the lambs and other animals as sacred animals and living representations of the gods. Moses pointed this out to Pharaoh, who offered to allow the Israelites to worship the Lord in Egypt rather than in the wilderness. Moses responded: “It is not right to do so, for what we sacrifice to the LORD, our God, is abhorrent to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what is abhorrent to the Egyptians before their very eyes, will they not stone us?” (Exodus 8:22). What is more, the Lord commands that the Israelites put the blood of the sacrifice on the lintels of their doors, basically announcing to the Egyptians what they had done. The Lord, then, is asking Israel to make an act of faith and trust that he will protect them. They need to be freed of any idolatry they might have fallen into while in Egypt. This sacrifice will be a renunciation of Egyptian idolatry. This is also why the Israelites will have to eat the Passover ready to flee Egypt.

2. The Sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the New Passover: At the Last Supper, Jesus not only celebrates the annual Jewish Passover meal. Rather, he reconfigures the sacrifice and consumption of the Passover lamb around his own passion and death and institutes a new Passover memorial. Jesus identifies himself as the new Passover lamb who will be sacrificed for the redemption of the new Israel in a new exodus. As the Lamb of God, Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh under the form of unleavened bread as part of a new Passover meal. Early Christians understood that to keep the Passover meant eating the flesh of the Lamb. In the words of Paul: “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, therefore let us keep the feast!” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8) (see Pitre, Jesus and the Last Supper, 442-443).

3. The Goal of the New Passover and Exodus: When we celebrate the New Passover, we look forward to Jesus’ return in glory at the end of time. The Eucharist is a foretaste of eschatological consummation. We are strengthened by the Eucharist as we endure the trials of this world. When we partake of the Eucharist, we look forward to the definitive coming of the Kingdom of God. By means of the Eucharist, Jesus has set in motion the new exodus that has the Kingdom of God as its ultimate destination. “Just as the first exodus was set in motion by the Passover sacrifice, so too the new exodus, which will usher in the kingdom, is set in motion by a new Passover – an eschatological Passover – that is accomplished by means of his own suffering, death, and restoration to life ‘in the kingdom.’ This is, of course, not to say that the two Passovers are identical. The old exodus is set in motion by the sacrifice of ordinary lambs; the new Exodus will be set in motion by the suffering and death of Jesus. Likewise, in the old exodus of Moses, Egypt was the point of departure and the mountain of God (= Jerusalem) the ultimate destination (Exod 15:17); in the new exodus of Jesus, Jerusalem in the point of departure and the kingdom of God is the ultimate destination” (Pitre, Jesus and the Last Supper, 511).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. You ask me to follow your example of self-giving and charity. Empower me with your grace and Holy Spirit to do good works of charity and serve my brothers and sisters generously.

Living the Word of God: Offer thanksgiving in prayer for the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God, and the gift of the Eucharist.