Holy Thursday

In A.R. Gurney’s play, “The Dining Room,” the action revolves around a large dinner table. Sketches and stories illustrate the joys, the sorrows and the turning points of life – from a child’s first birthday party to a dying father’s last meal with his family. At some point, one of the characters, Tony, remarks, “You can learn a lot about a culture from the way it eats.”

       On Holy Thursday we gather around our ‘family table.’ We come with our sorrows and our joys, our burdens and our hopes, to raise them up before God, remembering that we are both guests and hosts. As guests we receive from Christ the Bread of Life and we are hosts because we are called to imitate Christ in his role of host by taking on the selfless, demanding and humbling work of serving each other.

       It is by this ‘parable-in-action’ of the washing of his disciples’ feet that Jesus shows us how serving others is never an optional part of our lives as Christians. Jesus teaches us that no act of service can be considered inappropriate, that nothing we do for others is ever beneath us. 

       Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ gesture seems very normal. He’s embarrassed and feels that the Master should not have to do this sort of thing for his disciples. Someone has suggested, and it makes a lot of sense to me, that somewhere in Peter’s mind may have been the thought: “What’s all this leading to? If he is willing to serve us this way, then I must be willing to do the same also.” It’s a sobering thought. We, as Christians, are being asked to serve our sisters and brothers in the same way that Jesus has done for his disciples.

       The washing of feet is a symbolic gesture and also a metaphor for the way we live our lives. If we are not prepared to serve one another, then all we do is watch someone pour water over other people. It is only when we are ready to serve others in whatever ways we can that this symbolic gesture takes on a deep and abiding meaning.