First Reading: Exodus 12: 1-8, 11-14; Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 116: 12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18; Second Reading: First Corinthians 11: 23-26; Gospel: John 13: 1-15

The Holy Thursday Reflection is by, Julien Kagere, SJ, in regency at CARF/Lubumbashi

 

The excerpts from Holy Scripture offered to us on this Holy Thursday, as we are called to delve into the depths of our Christian vocation, speak of sharing.

“On the threshold of the night of their liberation, the chosen people celebrate Passover.”

These exhortations from the sacred authors resonate in our hearts as we live in an age where the concept of “sharing” has been completely disfigured by the quest for personal gain. Giving has become synonymous with investing. There is no room for gratuity. May we ask ourselves: What place does gratuity occupy in our daily lives? It is only through selflessness that we can truly show charity, empathize with the world around us, and make our own the joys and sorrows of others.

“… the blood will be for you a sign on the houses where you will be…”

The Paschal Lamb, who gives himself up for us, comes to free us from the deserts and prisons of our lives. The Christian life is a rocky path, a series of experiences of rejection, disappointment, and suffering. Each of us carries a cross in the depths of our being. My cross is myself my character, those odious habits from which I cannot free myself, that obscure tomb in which I bury myself. My cross may be my private pattern, my father, brother, partner and colleague… May the Lord enable me to accept my cross this painful experience that leads me to salvation so that the ups and downs of my earthly pilgrimage never distance me from the Lord.

May we obtain from this walk towards the Lord’s Easter the grace to offer the crosses of our lives at the feet of the holy cross of the Saviour of mankind. One way of uniting ourselves with the dying Christ is to persevere in prayer, which remains the Christian’s weapon in the fight against the snares of the devil.

“…every time you eat this bread and drink this cup; you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes…”

Sharing is the fruit of love and service, as Saint John teaches us through the humility of the great Master-Servant.

Christ “puts off his robe and takes a towel…” He leaves his glory and puts himself at the service of his disciples. Each of us exercises a measure of authority—be it familial, religious, professional, or otherwise. May we be among those who truly listen to those under our care, so as to serve them in Christ’s way.

What does it mean to wash my brother’s feet today? To wash the feet requires more than washing the head, in the sense that the feet touch the dust. To wash my colleague, my partner, my neighbour is to welcome and accept them as they are. It is recognizing them as the very “other” of myself. It is articulating the language of love—a selfless love open to all. To wash my companion’s feet is to lift them out of the pits of social prejudice and recognize them as a son or daughter of the Father of humanity, worthy of love.

Amen!