HOLY THURSDAY ......21.04.11
JOHN 13:1-15 ........" NOW HE SHOWED HOW PERFECT HIS LOVE WAS. "
It is only in John's Gospel that the washing of the feet occurs at the close of the Last Supper, a day before the feast of the Passover. John makes only a passing reference to the Last Supper. It was at this time a quarrel arose among the disciples as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest...Luke 22:24. The washing of the feet brings out the real meaning and significance of the Paschal meal and foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross the next day ie., the Day of Passover, the Good Friday.The Message Bible paraphrases what Paul says in Philippians 2:2-8 : "Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet -talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand... Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantage of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human ! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death...... and the worst kind of death at that ...... a crucifixion." Jesus humbles himself and lovingly took the dirt of the sins of the disciples on to himself by washing their feet like a lowest slave. The disciples believed in Jesus as the Saviour, except for Judas, and so were saved but they had to reckon with their sins of pride and selfishness. The washing of their feet symbolises the removal and forgiveness of their sins paving the way for the infilling of the Holy Spirit that subsequently happens on the Day of Pentecost and their lives are changed. This is exactly what happens at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist when we hear God's Word and partake of the precious body of Christ, our sins are washed away and our souls flooded by the love of the Holy Spirit. We experience an inexpressible inner joy and peace that sets in a process of gradual transformation to greater holiness and closeness to God.The stepping stones to this experience are faith, love and humility. This is the Kingdom experience , a precursor to what we will inherit when we meet Jesus Christ face to face at the end of our journey. This is the purpose why Christ lay down his life in love for us. Let this Easter season be a life transforming experience for each one of us.
God Bless.
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