Tonight we celebrate a very
special mass, the first mass, when Jesus took the bread and wine and
told the disciples that this was his body and blood. It is also on
this night the first priests were ordained. The Passover meal which
they were celebrating, was and is a very special meal for the Jewish
people. It was the feast that remembered their being set free from
slavery. During that meal they sacrificed an animal, a lamb if
possible, and the blood of the lamb was marked on the doors of their
houses as a sign that they belonged to God, so God would protect
them. They were saved by the blood of the lamb.
During this meal Jesus did
something totally unexpected, which has left us baffled ever since.
He suddenly told them that the bread which was in his hands, was now
his body, and the wine that he was holding, was his blood and that
they should both eat and drink it themselves, and repeat this ritual
to remember him. This is what St. Paul says in the second reading
which is the oldest account of the mass in the Bible: ‘This is what
I received from the Lord and in turn passed on to you…’ We did
not invent what we call the mass; the Lord Jesus himself gave it to
us directly and asked us to repeat it as a way of remembering him.
That is why we never change it for something else. That is why we
also call it the mass and not a service.
From the very
first time that Jesus taught the people about receiving his body and
blood, it caused division. It says in John’s Gospel that when he
gave this teaching the people complained and said ‘This is too
much. Who could accept this?’ and many people stopped following him
after that. But he didn’t go after them and say ‘Wait, let me
explain!’ He just let them go.
Why did Jesus
give us the Eucharist? I’m sure it was for two reasons. First,
because he wanted us to know that He is intimately with us always. We
can receive the body and blood of Jesus into our own bodies every day
if we wish. Every time we celebrate the mass Jesus becomes present to
us in the form of wine. It is not just a symbol, or a reminder, but
this is really and truly the body and blood of Jesus in an
extraordinary way. It is completely beyond our understanding, but
Jesus doesn’t ask us to understand it, only to believe in it.
The second
reason is so that we could be present at the greatest event in
history, the sacrifice of Calvary: the offering of God the Son to God
the Father. That is what the mass is; the offering of God the Son to
God the Father, an offering which the Father can not refuse, and
that’s why the mass is so powerful. It is the perfect prayer, the
perfect sacrifice which makes up for our inadequacies. Jesus makes it
possible for us to be present at this event every time we celebrate
mass.
Then another
crucial thing happened. Jesus got down and washed the feet of the
disciples, to teach them something. I always smile when anyone is
asked to come up for the washing of the feet because if they do
volunteer, you can be sure they will have carefully washed their
feet, so really there is no need to wash them. But Jesus got down on
his hands and knees and washed dirty, sweaty feet. Why did he do
this? To show them that they were being called to a life of service.
If he was prepared to serve them, they must also be prepared to serve
everyone. That is what our work as priests is supposed to be about:
it is meant to be one of service to the people. It is also the
mindset that we are all called to have as Christians; service;
looking after whoever is in need.
Now here is
the essential thing. Peter’s reaction explains it all. Peter felt
he could not allow Jesus the Lord, to wash his feet, because he was a
sinner. He wanted to keep Jesus at a distance because he was a
sinner. Remember his reaction to the miracle of the great catch of
fish? 'Leave me Lord. I am a sinful man' (Luke 5:8). This is the
typical reaction of most of us. We say ‘Leave me Lord I am a sinful
man.’ We don’t really believe that God could love us as we
are. We are afraid to allow God to come too close. But Jesus’
answer was to say that he ‘must’ do this. In other words he was
saying ‘Peter, you must not allow your unworthiness to keep me from
you.’ God is well aware of what we are like and all the things that
we’ve done wrong, but it doesn’t stop him from loving us and even
from washing our feet. For our part we must not be afraid to allow
the Lord to come close to us either. He offers himself to us, so let
us never be afraid.
‘This is my
body which will be given up for you.’