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He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
He loved them not only to his apparent end on the cross, but to the end, or destiny, of each of them, unto the wholeness and holiness which he desired for them, which he alone could give, and which alone could fulfill them. He does so for us as well. He loves us with our end in view, in light of destiny that is greater than anything we could ask or imagine, anything that eye has seen or ear has heard. We often act as though our end is the one we have in common with the beasts, to feed, to reproduce, and to die. But Jesus knows our true end, and it is his love alone that can help us to transcend our limited self-understanding. This is especially so because the path up first must go down, and the exultation at the end can only be the result of humility and self-giving love here and now.
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
In the incarnation Jesus emptied himself taking the form of a slave and coming in human likeness. His entire life reflected this willingness to empty himself in order that he could draw near to us. In washing his disciples feet Jesus revealed the inner logic behind his whole life, the incarnation, the Eucharist, and the Passion. Jesus stripped himself of what was his by right of his divinity and embraced humility so that he could be close enough to us to serve us, to touch even the most hidden and shameful parts of our lives with his healing power. We might imagine that taking the form a slave diminished his dignity, and did not pay due regard to his true end. We might be highly suspicious of him when he said that we too must follow that path and example, as though we too would become something less than human by doing so. But ultimately, though in a mysterious way, it is precisely in this kind of love that we come nearer to the end for which we were made, that we more nearly come to resemble Jesus himself. In the end it is his divine life that we are meant to share. And this dirty chore, this humble act of service, is exactly how that divine life expresses itself in human form.
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
We should give Peter credit where it is due. He was the one who said "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord" (see Luke 5:8). So also here, Peter did not take for granted the seemingly unfitting approach of one so great to a sinner such as himself. It was good for him that he did not take that approach for granted, and waited for Jesus to insist and to reassure him. What of us? Jesus is constantly humbling himself in order to serve us, especially in the Sacraments. Do we simply receive him as a matter of course? Or do we truly realize that he, 'teacher' and 'master' is lowering himself in order to wash the feet of the sinful men and women that we, no less than Peter, truly are?
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Receiving the gift of humble self-giving love from Jesus is the something that chaffs against our pride. There is a part of us that desires to see ourselves on equal terms with Jesus, a part that would like to take care of our own feet. But this act of Jesus in fact reveals of desperate neediness, and our inability to clean ourselves. Seeing the master lower himself, receiving this love, is the only way that we ourselves can come to share that love with others. When we really recognize what is happening- and let us pray for this gift- it will finally break our hearts open and allow the love that Jesus first pours in to flow out to others.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do.
In this act of self-emptying love Jesus held nothing back. He gave the gift of his very self, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist. He took the fruit of his self-offering on the cross and gave it us as a gift. He himself is the true lamb of God, the one whose blood is now meant to mark the lintels and doorposts of our hearts. This is our memorial feast, our perpetual institution. Let us embrace Jesus as he himself draws near, as he lowers himself to wash us by water and blood, and allow him to love us unto our true end: eternal life with him.
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