Holy Thursday

Gospel – John 13:1-15

Celebration of the Last Supper

Mass at Gethsemane

Growing up, we always had a lot of big family dinners – birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter Sunday.  Gatherings that one single table could never accommodate.  So the adults ate at the dining room table and all the kids ate in the kitchen.  Kids table / adults table – I’m guessing all of you had something similar.  And all that time, I had this desire to MOVE UP – to graduate to the adult table.  I think in the back of my mind I thought the food would be better, that the menu would be somehow different.  Not so much! 

I think most of us had the same experience with First Communion.  All that time beforehand, we just couldn’t wait til the day of our First Communion.  We were so excited to not just attend Mass but receive Communion, the Eucharist, to not just gather around the table of the Lord, but share in the meal!

Anticipation – that deep down excitement about getting fed or receiving Communion.  We all have felt it.  However the Gospel today reminds us it’s not just about receiving; it’s about giving.  It’s not just about being served; it’s also about serving.  Jesus and the Apostles are gathered together for their celebration of the Passover.  In the middle of the meal, the Last Supper, Jesus gets up and washes the feet of His disciples.  He performs the role of a servant, not a master, not a teacher, but a lowly servant and he reminds the apostles they must do the same.  It is a reminder to us all that it is in giving that we receive!

As children, we may not have been very involved in the prep and serving of the meal; we probably thought the food just magically appeared.  Our only job was to eat.  Even as an adult, there are plenty of times where I avoided going into the kitchen and I just left the prep to Ginger, her mom and Jaime.  At best, I probably set the table.  Don’t let that happen this year.

Let’s consider this year an opportunity to do more, to make our family meal not just about the food but about the family, not just about what we are getting but what we can give. To join together and literally serve each other!  So why not split up the dishes! Let each of us prepare one dish so that, when the table is set, each of us has made a contribution and each of us has something to give!

Whether we gather around a dinner table or we gather around an altar, whether we gather to feed our body or feed our souls, we gather TOGETHER!   On this day, Jesus gave us the gift of Himself in the Eucharist.  Let us all thank Him with the gift of ourselves, in serving Him by being of service to each other.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Sunday – 13 th Sunday in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 10:37-42 The Cost/Rewards of Discipleship Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem I’m holding in my hand a simple piece of paper, barely bigger than an index card.   It’s a mini-golf scorecard and it’s 47 years old.   At the time, the game itself probably cost only about $6.   Certainly a lot less than you would pay today.   So the cost today doesn’t seem like much.   But for me all that time ago, it was a wealth of money.   So it cost me a lot.   But the rewards of the card?   Well, that is priceless.   This was one of the first dates Ginger and I went on.   And who would have guessed how that would turn out?   All the memories we have shared, painful and joyful.   All the times we have shared together and the people who have touched our lives!   Priceless! Cost and reward!   Two vastly different concepts but they play a key role in all of today’s readings.   In the first reading, a rich woman goes out of her way t
Read more
Image
  14 th Sunday in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 11:25-30 The “Little Ones” Open Market, Jerusalem There’s a story about a rather eccentric teacher who was always looking for creative ways to test (torture) his students.   Sometimes it was crazy project and sometimes it was a wacky exam that tested not just their knowledge but also their experience. So one day he hands out a test, typical normal test, Q/A, except this was the last question.   What’s the name of the school janitor?   One of his students looked at the question and thought – I know he’s short, wears glasses and has light brown hair but how in the world would I know his name?   So he left it blank and turned in his paper. When class was over, he went up to the teacher and asked whether that last question would count in the test grade.   Absolutely, said the teacher.   Throughout your whole life, you will find that every person you cross paths with is important, significant.   They deserve you
Read more
Image
  16 th Sunday in Ordinary Time   revisited Gospel – Matthew 13:24-30 Be Patient, My Child Tied Up in Knots! Many years ago, I remember one summer when it was time for our daughter Jaime to learn how to ride a bicycle.   So I took off the training wheels, she climbed onto the bike and proceeded to take off.   I followed close behind, holding onto the back bumper, trying to keep the bike upright and trying to make sure she didn’t fall.   It was exhausting for both of us.   I thought I was being a good dad by doing everything I could to keep her from falling.   But it didn’t work.   We were both getting frustrated.   Finally, she had had enough and she banished me to sit on the front porch while she worked it out on her own.   It took time and it took a lot of patience, something neither one of us had much of at the start of the process. I was getting impatient with the process and she was getting impatient with me.   Patience was in short supply.   But in the end, patience w
Read more