Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL, Bishop of Parramatta
Homily for Maundy Thursday
Readings: Exodus 12:1-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15
Becoming the body broken for the life of the world
My dear friends,
Tonight, we have come to celebrate the Holy Triduum, beginning with Maundy Thursday and culminating with Easter Vigil. Maundy refers to the Latin word Mandatum which in turn originates from the words of our Lord: “A new commandment I give you. Love one another as I have loved you”. Thus, Maundy Thursday reminds us of the command to imitate the love of God shown in the self-sacrifice of his Son. It is the command to be Christ’s body broken and his blood poured out for others. The Eucharist, illustrated by the drama of foot-washing commits us to the upside down and bottom-up way of Jesus. Only by emptying ourselves for the sake of others can we truly be eucharistic people.
Being eucharistic people is already foreshadowed in the Old Testament. In the Book of Exodus, we hear the description of the Jewish Passover meal. In this ritual, our Jewish forebears celebrate the deliverance from slavery and renew their commitment to build a post-Exodus society. They are commanded to form a covenantal community in which love of neighbour is at its core. Instead of the exploitation under Pharaoh, they enacted a divine mandate that protected those at the bottom of the society such as the orphans, widows and strangers. At its best, Israel developed some of the most rigorous safety nets and a very sophisticated care economy in the Ancient Near East.
The celebration of the Last Supper anticipates the new exodus that we are to embark upon with Jesus. It is about the new way of being and a new way of living. This new way flies in the face of ambition, upward mobility, power and glory. In effect, Jesus teaches us that Christian discipleship is about the willingness to suffer with others, to be vulnerable with the vulnerable, to be last with the least, to be powerless with those without power
At the Last Supper, Jesus transforms the Jewish Passover meal so that it is no longer just a celebration of earthly freedom. Jesus anticipates a new kind of exodus by his death and resurrection. Those who partake of the Eucharist share in the paschal mystery accomplished on the altar of the cross. It is to eat his flesh and drink his blood is to become the body broken and the blood poured out for others.
The Eucharist commits us to be Christ’s transforming presence in the world. For like him, we must suffer with others, with the least and be powerless.
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 the visual demonstration of the Beatitudes. It is in emptying ourselves for the sake of others that we truly follow Christ. It is in bearing pain, that we find joy and in dying that we rise to new life.
Maundy Thursday is also traditionally regarded as the birthday of the ministerial priesthood. Jesus presents a model of ministry that must be reclaimed. We need to go to the drawing board which is the Gospel of service exemplified by Christ’s radical inversion of worldly values. The priesthood in the era of synodality entails a significant degree of vulnerability. Let us pray for the clergy of the diocese, especially as we embark upon the journey that requires a commitment to self-emptying and embracing mutual empowerment through shared decision-making.
My dear friends,
This year, with the Church in Australia, we also begin the journey toward the International Eucharistic Congress. It is an opportunity for us to renew our love, devotion and imitation of the Eucharistic Lord. We are challenged to reclaim our identity as Eucharistic people. St Augustine put it like this: “Receive what you already are and become fully what you have received”. We must become what we eat, to be another Christ for others, to be Eucharistic in our self-giving love, in our reaching out and in our embrace of all people in the manner Jesus showed us. St John Chrysostom shows the link between the Eucharist and love of others in this way: “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the Church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.” Indeed, communion with the poor is the pathway to God and communion with God leads us to the suffering body of Christ.
Tonight’s celebration highlights for us what it means to be a disciple and what it means to be a body of Christ. Tonight, as we give thanks for this gift of Christ’s body and blood, let us embrace the command to give ourselves away in love. May we grow daily into the Eucharistic Lord who reaches out to all people and leads them to the heart of God. May we be known as Jesus’ disciples by our love and service of one another, especially those who are most in need.
