Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand
him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
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.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him,
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Simon Peter said to him,
“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Jesus said to him,
“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all.”
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, “Do you realize what I have 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 as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Followed by the Washing of the Feet

Followed by the Homily:

“Jesus loved them to the end,” St John says.

My brothers and sisters,  Holy Thursday is all about loving, and humbly serving one another.

This is His last night, and we see Jesus on His knees, washing feet, wiping away dirt…Jesus down on His knees out of love.
It’s one of His last acts on earth, time spent with His friends, and He loves them to the end.
He spends His last few moments taking care of them, purifying them, removing the dust and dirt of the day.
Because  He wants them to remember it, He says very clearly:
“I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Tonight is the holiest of nights.
The night Jesus took bread and wine,
blessed them and gave them to His disciples, saying, “Do this in remembrance of Me …’

But He also did something very unequaled, very loving.
He washed their feet  –

At the beginning, Peter protested, shocked that the One he called Teacher should kneel and wash his feet.
Peter  was a fisherman, he didn’t have pretty feet.
He only agreed because Jesus told him, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”

So Peter sat there, closing his eyes in embarrassment, wincing a little as his Savior removed his sandals.    Jesus washed his feet and dried them
with a soft towel.

He even washed the feet of Judas – that’s how deep His love was.
He loved them all – right up to the end,
Then He said forcefully, so it would sink in:
“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 other words, Remember what I have done.   Do this too in remembrance of me.

Tonight, as the Church celebrates  the Institution of the Eucharist, we don’t read a  gospel about Christ giving us Himself in the form of
bread and wine.
The emphasis, rather, is how Jesus got down on His knees for us, how He lowered himself, how He became a servant to the world,
as humble as a slave, as ordinary, meager and plain as a crust of bread.

Tonight is the last meal Jesus had, and we’ve gathered here  not only to remember it, but to re-present it, to relive it, the night Jesus took such
special care of His friends.