From: John 13:1-15
Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
[12] When He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and resumed
His place, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? [13] You
call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. [14] If then your Lord
and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
[15] For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done
for you.”
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Commentary:
1. Jewish families sacrificed a lamb on the eve of the Passover, in keeping with
God’s command at the time of the exodus from Egypt when God liberated them
from the slavery of Pharaoh (Exodus 12:3-14; Deuteronomy 16:1-8). This libera-
tion prefigured that which Jesus Christ would bring about—the redemption of men
from the slavery of sin by means of His sacrifice on the cross (cf. 1:29). This is
why the celebration of the Jewish Passover was the ideal framework for the
institution of the new Christian Passover.
Jesus knew everything that was going to happen; He knew His death and re-
surrection were imminent (cf. 18:4); this is why His words acquire a special
tone of intimacy and love towards those whom He is leaving behind in the world.
Surrounded by those whom He has chosen and who have believed in Him, He
gives them His final teachings and institutes the Eucharist, the source and cen-
terof the life of the Church. “He Himself wished to give that encounter such a
fullness of meaning, such a richness of memories, such a moving image of
words and thoughts, such a newness of acts and precepts, that we can never
exhaust our reflection and exploration of it. It was a testamentary supper, infi-
nitely affectionate and immensely sad, and at the same time a mysterious
revelation of divine promises, of supreme visions. Death was imminent, with
silent omens of betrayal, of abandonment, of immolation; the conversation dies
down but Jesus continues to speak in words that are new and beautifully reflec-
tive, in almost supreme intimacy, almost hovering between life and death”
([Pope] Paul VI, “Homily on Holy Thursday”, 27 March 1975).
What Christ did for His own may be summed up in this sentence: “He loved
them to the end.” It shows the intensity of His love—which brings Him even to
give up His life (cf. John 15:13); but this love does not stop with His death, for
Christ lives on and after His resurrection He continues loving us infinitely: “It
was not only thus far that He loved us, who always and forever loves us. Far
be it from us to imagine that He made death the end of His loving, who did not
make death the end of His living” (St. Augustine, “In Ioann. Evang.”, 55, 2).
2. The Gospel shows us the presence and activity of the devil running right
through Jesus’ life (cf. Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 22:3; John 8:44; 12:31; etc.).
Satan is the enemy (Matthew 13:39), the evil one (1 John 2:13). St. Thomas
Aquinas (cf. “Commentary on St. John, in loc.”) points out that, in this passage,
on the one hand, we clearly see the malice of Judas, who fails to respond to
this demonstration of love, and on the other hand great emphasis is laid on the
goodness of Christ, which reaches out beyond Judas’ malice by washing his
feet also and by treating him as a friend right up to the moment when he betrays
Him (Luke 22:48).
3-6. Aware that He is the Son of God, Jesus voluntarily humbles Himself to the
point of performing a service appropriate to household servants. This passage
recalls the Christological hymn in St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: “Christ
Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God
a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant...”
(Philippians 2:6-7).
Christ had said that He came to the world not to be served but to serve (Mark
10:45). In this scene He teaches us the same thing, through specific example,
thereby exhorting us to serve each other in all humility and simplicity (cf. Gala-
tians 6:2; Philippians 2:3). “Once again He preaches by example, by His deeds.
In the presence of His disciples, who are arguing out of pride and vanity, Jesus
bows down and gladly carries out the task of a servant.[...] This tactfulness of
our Lord moves me deeply. He does not say: ‘If I do this, how much more ought
you to do?’ He puts Himself at their level, and He lovingly chides those men for
their lack of generosity.
“As He did with the first twelve, so also, with us, our Lord can and does whisper
in our ear, time and again: ‘exemplum dedi vobis’ (John 13:15), I have given you
an example of humility. I have become a slave, so that you too may learn to
serve all men with a meek and humble heart” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”,
103).
Peter understands particularly well how thoroughly our Lord has humbled Him-
self, and he protests, in the same kind of way as he did on other occasions,
that he will not hear of Christ suffering (cf. Matthew 8:32 and par.). St. Augus-
tine comments: “Who would not shrink back in dismay from having his feet
washed by the Son of God....You? Me? Words to be pondered on rather than
spoken about, lest words fail to express their true meaning” (St. Augustine,
“In Ioann. Evang.”, 56,1).
7-14. Our Lord’s gesture had a deeper significance than St. Peter was able to
grasp at this point; nor could he have suspected that God planned to save men
through the sacrificing of Christ (cf. Matthew 16:22 ff). After the Resurrection
the Apostles understood the mystery of this service rendered by the Redeemer:
by washing their feet, Jesus was stating in a simple and symbolic way that He
had not come “to be served but to serve”. His service, as He already told them,
consists in giving “His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).
Our Lord tells the Apostles that they are now clean, for they have accepted His
words and have followed Him (cf. 15:3)—all but Judas, who plans to betray Him.
St. John Chrysostom comments as follows: “You are already clean because of
the word that I have spoken to you. That is: You are clean only to that extent.
You have already received the Light; you have already got rid of the Jewish error.
The Prophet asserted: ‘Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the
evil from your souls’ (Isaiah 1:16).... Therefore, since they had rooted evil from
their souls and were following Him with complete sincerity, He declared, in
accordance with the Prophet’s words: ‘He who has bathed is clean all over’” (St.
John Chrysostom, “Hom. on St. John”, 70, 3).
15-17. Jesus’ whole life was an example of service towards men, fulfilling His
Father’s will to the point of dying on the Cross. Here our Lord promises us that
if we imitate Him, our Teacher, in disinterested service (which always implies
sacrifice), we will find true happiness which no one can wrest from us (cf. 16:22;
17:13). “’I have given you an example’, He tells His disciples after washing their
feet, on the night of the Last Supper. Let us reject from our hearts any pride,
any ambition, any desire to dominate; and peace and joy will reign around us
and within us, as a consequence of our personal sacrifice” (St. J. Escriva,
“Christ Is Passing By”, 94).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
| First reading | Exodus 12:1-8,11-14 © |
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The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt, I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 115:12-13,15-18 |
| Second reading | 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 © |
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This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
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| Gospel | John 13:1-15 © |
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It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.
They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’
When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’
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Here are the readings for the morning Chrism Mass:
| First reading | Isaiah 61:1-3,6,8-9 © |
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The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up hearts that are broken;
to proclaim liberty to captives,
freedom to those in prison;
to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord,
a day of vengeance for our God,
to comfort all those who mourn and to give them
for ashes a garland;
for mourning robe the oil of gladness,
for despondency, praise.
But you, you will be named ‘priests of the Lord’,
they will call you ‘ministers of our God.’
I reward them faithfully
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their race will be famous throughout the nations,
their descendants throughout the peoples.
All who see them will admit
that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed.
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 88:21-22,25,27 |
| Second reading | Apocalypse 1:5-8 © |
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Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
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| Gospel | Luke 4:16-21 © |
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Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:
The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives
and to the blind new sight,
to set the downtrodden free,
to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’
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