HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER YEAR C

 

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14; Psalm 116:12-13.15-18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15.

“THE MYSTERY OF SERVICE AND SACRIFICE!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide

·      Holy Thursday is the last day of the Holy season of Lent. This day introduces us to the Paschal Triduum. It is the final preparation for Easter. “Preparation” is the keyword for this day. In this celebration, Christ offers himself to his friends, disciples, and the Church in the sacrifice of his body and blood. Christ’s giving of himself is symbolized today by the washing of the apostles’ feet. This is an invitation to service; service to neighbour and to the World.

·      Today the liturgy is wrapped up in mystery and wonder. The complete overhauling of human tradition and the reinstating of the divine standard and tradition. Today the parish priest will like Jesus, wash the feet of those under his pastoral care. Inviting us all to go and do likewise to those we are called to serve.

·      We cannot have the Mass of the Lord’s supper without also reflecting on the gift of the sacred priesthood. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist was not instituted in a vacuum. It was instituted by Christ on this night and handed on to his apostles with the following words, “Take this and eat. This is my body which will be given up for you. Do this in memory of me.” To do this in remembrance of Christ’s offering, of himself, the catholic priesthood was instituted to carry on this mandate.

·      Thanks be to God for the gift of Priesthood! As we celebrate this Mass of the Lord’s Supper we give thanks to God for the Priesthood and the Eucharist. The Priesthood was born during the Last Supper. A priest is someone who offers sacrifice for himself and for the people of God both living and dead.

·      There were many animals sacrificed in the Old Covenant by the Jewish priests, but there is one sacrifice offered in the New Covenant, the sacrifice of Jesus, in his priestly offering of himself on the cross. Scripture talks of Christ’s death as a sacrifice because he is the Priest of the New Covenant; “Christ loved us and handed himself over, for us as a sacrificial offering to God” (Eph. 5:2) “You were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb.” (1 Pet 1:18-19) 

·      During Mass, that one sacrifice of Jesus as the Priest of the New Covenant is extended to us through time and made present to us. There is not a new sacrifice of Jesus on the cross during every Mass; it is the same sacrificial offering of Jesus as Priest on the cross of Calvary but extended through time - and made present to us now.

·      We have just listened to the account of the Last Supper in John’s Gospel. It described Jesus washing the feet of his apostles (John 13:1-15). That is only part of John’s account of the Last Supper; John’s account concludes with Jesus’ Priestly Prayer in John 17. During that prayer to the Father, Jesus prays for the apostles, “Consecrate them in the truth.” (John 17:17) Jesus is praying that they are interiorly changed by the truth that they become like Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Jesus is praying that they become sanctified, transformed by the truth. It really carries the connotation that they are being ordained by Christ as his priests.

·      In the first reading, Jesus is prefigured as the Passover lamb whose blood saves people from impending doom “when I see the Blood I will pass over you” and whose death unites families and neighbours “a lamb for each household; and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbour next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each man can eat you shall make your count for the lamb” (Ex. 12:4).

·      The death of Jesus as the Passover Lamb breaks the barrier and the wall of individualism and unites us into the larger household of God redeemed by his blood.

·      The first reading specifically refers to the meal as a Passover meal. A meal that gives us a passage from death to life, from darkness to light, from unrighteousness to righteousness, from unfaithfulness to faithfulness. It also talks about the urgency of this passage. That is why the meal must be eaten in haste because it is necessary for salvation.

·      The sacrificial death of Jesus becomes even more mysterious when he leaves us an example of humble service. He turned the world around and inverted the status quo. The poor, the lowly, and the oppressed are given a place at the master’s table. We who are oppressed by the world have now been given a place at the table of the Lord’s sacrifice.

·      The least of the slaves are usually the ones billed to wash the master’s leg and other important guests and not the other way round. By so doing, Jesus showed the world that the way to conquer, the way to victory, is through service.

·      It is particularly instructive that he began by washing the feet of his closest friends and apostles to whom he handed on the tradition of the priesthood. “For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (Jn. 13:15).

·      It is particularly a challenge to me, and indeed to most priests; because on this night of Passover, two sacraments were simultaneously instituted as I said earlier. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and the sacrament of the Holy Orders. Jesus knew that if the Passover meal must be celebrated always in memory of him, then he had to empower priests with the powers to make him present daily through the words of consecration.

·      The question is what is my understanding of the priesthood? For me, is it a vocation or profession, or is it a job or a calling? It is not a job but a sublime vocation. There will be no price tag huge enough for the priestly service. The God himself who calls knows how best to reward his priests.

·      My dear people of God, pray for us your priests. We are only earthenware, mere mortals called by God to carry out the profound ministry of making Christ present in the world. We are weighed down by sin. We are struck by the feeling of inadequacy. We are affected by the ills and struggles of our society. We can be tired and sometimes uninterested in our daily tasks. Rather than criticize us your priests, pray for us, that we may not fail. 

·      We your priests are human beings loaded with frailties, dangers, defects, we are not angels. Forgive us for the wrong done, for the pain caused, for sometimes not living to the expectations of this divine call. Find it in your hearts, to pray for us and for our continuous conversion.

·      If you think that you are attacked by one demon, tens of thousands are going after your priest to bring them down. If one priest fails, the spiritual life of millions of Catholics is put at risk. On this day, I beg you my dear people of God, pray for me and for all priests, that our faith may not fail and that the fire and zeal of the Holy Spirit will keep burning in our hearts. When a priest is faithful, he is fruitful.

·      Today’s celebration throws a personal challenge to me. As a pastor of the flock of God, how have I fared in my priestly duties, to continuously call down God to transform ordinary bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ? Do I do it with all seriousness, devotion, and a high sense of responsibility and passion? Do I sometimes lord it over the people entrusted to my care or do I serve them with a high sense of responsibility and humility?

·      Today is supposed to be traditionally the day for chrism mass where the bishop unites with his priests, to renew their priestly commitment and bless the holy oils used for the celebration of the sacraments throughout the year. But for us here in Abuja; for pastoral reasons, we celebrated ours on Tuesday, where we publicly renewed our priestly commitment and devotion. We prayed that these renewed vows and commitment may bring about genuine transformation in our priestly life and ministry.

·      My dear people of God, today just like the priests, we are all charged to renew and revisit our commitment to humble service and our devotion to the blessed sacrament – the Holy Eucharist and our responsibility towards our priests.

·      Jesus gives us priests so that we may have the Eucharist. Jesus does not want our celebration of the Eucharist to be cut off and separated or divorced from the rest of our lives. Our celebration of the Eucharist is to affect our entire lives. What kind of an effect is it to have on our lives?

·       Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in the context of the Last Supper surely teaches us that the Eucharist is linked with service. Our celebration of the Eucharist should lead us to love all our brothers and sisters in a sacrificial way. Our celebration of the Eucharist sends us out from here to love and serve the Lord in others. 

·      Our meeting with the Lord here continues as we love and serve the Lord in others after our celebration here. That is also why it is during the Last Supper that Jesus gave his new love commandment, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (John 13:34) 

·      St. Augustine, writing about the Eucharist, said that if we receive Holy Communion worthily, we are what we receive (Sermon 227) i.e., Christ was sacrificed that you might receive him in the Eucharist and be in like manner. Augustine was saying, when you receive Christ in the Eucharist you too are to sacrifice yourself. And in that sense, you become what you eat. Just as Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it; when we receive the Eucharist, we are to allow ourselves to be taken by Jesus, blessed, broken, and given in love for others. In that sense the words of Paul in our second reading tonight become true, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26) 

·      Thanks be to God for the gift of the Priesthood and thanks be to God for the Eucharist!

·      May God bless his words in our hearts, Amen!