Easter Sunday 2006

Saturday April 15, 2006

Mandatum

On Holy Thursday, I received a call from a Star Ledger reporter who was looking for an Easter story with a twist, one that might peek the interest or at least the curiosity of readers. I gathered from our brief conversation that he also made the rounds of rabbis in search of a Passover story as well. Our Easter celebration is rooted in the Passover story.

As I reflected on his inquiry, I found myself ruminating over the liturgy of Holy Thursday and in particular, the ‘mandatum’ or the ‘washing of the feet.’ For priests and pastors, this action is more than a ritual. It is at the heart of his vocation as a priest. In fact it is at the heart of the vocation of every Christian. It is the tone-setter for our life as Christians.

At our baptism the water was poured over our heads. And even if we were baptized through the immersion of our entire bodies in the baptismal pool, the concentration of the baptizing minister was not on our feet but on our head and heart.

During the washing of the feet, the priest must stoop down and kneel before the symbolic apostles and in a gesture of deep humility, he pours water over their feet, dries them and kisses them. He does this in imitation of Jesus. But there is a difference for the priest. He does so in the consciousness of his own sinfulness. There was no sin in Jesus but he took on the sins of humanity in order that we might be washed clean of sin and rise above the misdeeds that have crippled us and incapacitated our potential for goodness. Thus the many miraculous healing stories recorded by the all four evangelists.

I explained to the reporter that the celebration of Easter does not begin on Sunday morning but on Ash Wednesday and that Holy Thursday is really the day which disposes us for the feast because in this one gesture that took place during the final meal with his disciples, Jesus epitomized the nature of his entire ministry, the core of which was service.

It is curious that John’s Gospel, which is also known as the ‘Book of Signs,’ does not contain the words of institution or consecration. More than likely, this was due to the fact that by the time he wrote his narrative, Christians were gathering in their homes for the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday, the day of Resurrection t. It appears that John wanted to make a connection between the ‘breaking of the bread’ and the ritual washing of the feet of his disciples.

After the washing, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have just done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. 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 what I have done for you, you should also do.’” [Chapter 13:12-15]

This humble act of Jesus was indeed a tone setter for the meal that was to follow. Although his disciples did not understand much less appreciate the extended meaning of this Passover meal, John the Evangelist surely understood and was able to connect the event with Passover and with words spoken by John the Baptist at the baptism of Jesus, announcing him as the “Lamb of God.”

I said earlier that John did not include the words of institution in his narrative because the ritual celebration of this memorial meal was already well established among the early Christians. When the presider took the bread and repeated the words of Jesus, “Take this all of you and eat, this is my body… Take this cup and drink from it, this is the blood of the new covenant…” those at table knew that it was not just about bread becoming flesh but about their becoming the bread of Jesus life that he had shared long before his disciples arrived at the supper and long before these early Christians arrived at this common table.

There is an intimate connection between what we do at this table and what we do at the table of humanity.

Caroline Myss, author of two best sellers and well-known pioneer in what is called energy medicine has written yet another book entitled Invisible Acts of Power—Personal Choices That Create Miracles. It contains the testimonies of men and women who over time have raised to consciousness, their potential for goodness. “When we compassionately, without a private agenda or expectation of credit or reward, God works invisibly, anonymously through us. And when we move from visible acts, such as giving a friend a helping hand, to invisible acts, such as prayer and healing, we undergo a profound journey of personal empowerment.” [Quote taken from the cover flap of the book]

One of the testimonials was particularly poignant. “Writes Michael W., ‘One evening in San Francisco, I walked along Van Ness Avenue among the usual assortment of people… and of course the homeless out panhandling. I was heading towards a popular place where I planned to have dinner. As I neared the corner next to the restaurant’s entrance, I saw two homeless men. One was middle-aged, sitting on the pavement with his back against a mailbox. He looked filthy dirty. His face, his black-gray hair, and his beard were lined with dried sweat and dirt. His clothes were old and blackened with dirt and filth. Under his think eyebrows, his eyes appeared glazed, unfocused, as if his mind was in another world. From his speech—babbling and incoherent—I gathered that he was in another world or perhaps schizophrenic, I thought as I matched his eyes and mumblings to patients I’d seen working in a state psychiatric hospital.

“In front of the entrance stood an older man, also in old clothes, but his were only moderately dirty, and he appeared calm and coherent. He knew where he was exactly what he was doing. As I approached the restaurant entrance, a young, very attractive couple walked out of the door. They were handsome and well dressed, looking very happy, intelligent, and affluent. The beautiful young woman held a white Styrofoam take-out box in her hand. The older may stepped up to them, saying, ‘Money for food?’ At that moment I darted past them, thus avoiding having to deal with the panhandling. As I entered the restaurant the young woman extended the take-out box to the older man who immediately took the box and said very graciously, ‘Thank you, Thank you. God bless you.’ I turned to look because offering and accepting the food was not what I had expected would happen. The older man smiled at the couple then turned toward the mailbox, where the middle-aged was sitting. He opened the box. There was half a meal in it along with a plastic knife and fork. The older man used the knife to cut off the top of the box; then he carefully placed it on the mailbox. He then pushed half the food into the box top and placing the fork next to the food, the older man bent down to the other man and held the food in front of him. Very gently he said, ‘Here, brother, have something to eat.’ Numbly, the middle-aged man took the food, muttered, ‘Thanks,’ and slowly found the fork and began to eat. The older man picked up the other half of the box of food, sat down next to the middle-aged man, and together they began to eat.” [Invisible Acts of Power – Personal Choices That Create Miracles, Caroline Myss, Free Press, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, 2004]

Caroline goes on to comment, “Michael is at a breaking point, or a ‘breakthrough’ point. He is dancing around … attempting to quell his guilt by writing a letter admitting to it, which is a fine exercise—once. But I can promise him—and you—that working through emotions with a pen will never work twice. Next time his heart will force his identification with his homeless soul mates and not let him dodge another heart connection out of fear.”

It’s a homey story—one that has been repeated in much more dramatic circumstances and one that is screaming at us as we speak in the face of migrants and immigrants all over the world.

The washing of the feet in ritual form is called the “Mandatum,” a Latin word meaning, command. It also has the meaning of being sent out to act.

Resurrection is not about an empty tomb or is it an isolated feast that occurs once a year. It is celebration of human life in context—in the context of your life and mine.

“Love cannot remain by itself—it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service. How do we put the love for God into action? By being faithful to our family. And to the duties that God has entrusted to us. Whatever form we are, able or disabled, rich or poor, it is not how much we do but how much love we put in the doing—a lifelong sharing of love with others.” [Mother Teresa, Love Seeks to Serve]

Jesus’ death on the cross was not a human sacrifice to appease an angry God. His sacrifice was the offering of his life in service to humanity in order that humanity might be fed with the bread of our lives. Thus will everyone know that Jesus is risen.

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