Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL, Bishop of Parramatta
Homily for Maundy Thursday
Readings: Exodus 12:1-14; 1Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15
Embodying Christ’s selflessness and powerlessness
My dear friends,
Every year since becoming the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis has made a tradition of celebrating the Mass on Holy Thursday in a Roman prison and performing the ritual of foot-washing for the inmates. These include young men, women, mothers, foreigners, Muslims, non-believers and of course, all are convicted criminals. It is a powerful demonstration that no one is excluded from the love, mercy and forgiveness of God. It is also servant leadership at its best when selflessness rather than worldly power is exemplified. I myself endeavour to follow the Pope’s lead by visiting a prison in our diocese each year. It serves as a reminder to me of what the Church must be and where my ministry must extend. Indeed, God’s grace can be found in the most unlikely places and among the most unlikely people.
Tonight’s celebration which is the beginning of the Sacred Triduum puts in bold relief the essence of the Christian faith. It conveys to us in dramatic fashion the self-emptying love of God revealed in Jesus. The Last Supper and the foot-washing which we re-enact shortly anticipate the drama of Calvary. We who commemorate these events are called to embrace the selflessness and the powerlessness of Jesus. To say it in eucharistic terms, we are to be Christ’s body broken and his blood poured out for others.
In the first reading, we hear the description of the Jewish Passover meal. In this ritual, our spiritual ancestors celebrate the deliverance from slavery and the call to build a society they are meant to be. The Passover meal reinforces their commitment to form a covenant community in which the worship of God is intrinsically linked to the love of others. Time and again, the Israelites are reminded that the care of the most marginalized is the essential distinguishing mark of the covenant community. No longer under oppression and dominion, their destiny is to become the beacon of the new humanity. Therefore, to celebrate the Passover means to commit oneself to the demands of the membership of God’s household.
In the Last Supper, Jesus transforms the Jewish Passover meal. It is no longer just a celebration of freedom from bondage in Egypt. Jesus anticipates a new kind of exodus by his death and resurrection. He is the Passover Lamb, bringing about a new and greater exodus—leading us not to an earthly promise land, but to the reign of God’s justice and love.
His command to eat his flesh and to drink his blood has profound significance in terms of our participation in the mystery of his life-giving death and resurrection. The Eucharist commits us to be Christ’s transforming presence in the world. For like him, we must suffer with others, be vulnerable with the vulnerable, be last with the least and be powerless with those without power. We are reminded of the many meals Jesus shared with the poor, the hungry, the sinner, the disenfranchised and the marginalized.
To eat his flesh and to drink his blood is not just a privilege. When we say “Amen” as we receive communion, we don’t simply shut ourselves from others. The “Amen” actually obliges us to be like Christ, becoming the body broken and the blood poured out for others. It is also a profound statement of commitment and solidarity with all who suffer throughout the world. This is not something we do alone, but as a community, in communion with Christ and with our brothers and sisters who form his body on earth.
The gesture of foot-washing is profoundly connected to the Eucharistic sacrifice and self-giving. Jesus uses this Jewish custom to demonstrate the depth and intensity of his love for his disciples. He subverts worldly notion of greatness, power and leadership by taking on the role of a servant. He illustrates powerfully to us what it means to be his follower. It is a radical model of living and being in the world -one that goes against the grain of human nature. It is in emptying ourselves for the sake of others that we embody the God revealed in Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Tonight’s celebration highlights for us what it means to be a disciple and what it means to be a body of Christ. In the world which is deeply suspicious of institutional religions, we need to be purified of all that is the antithesis of the Gospel spirit. In the world where might is right, where the strong exert their power, sometimes without regard for the rights and dignity of the weak, we cannot be unmoved. The love of Christ must compel us to stand on the side of the suffering.
Tonight, we give thanks for this gift of his body and blood. More importantly, we strive to imitate the self-giving nature of our God himself. As we celebrate and share the Eucharist, let us commit ourselves to the journey of transformation. May we grow daily into the Eucharistic Christ who reaches out to all people and leads them to the heart of God. May we model our lives on the one who came to that all have life and have it to the full.
