The night before His crucifixion, Jesus wrestled with a complicated dilemma. He had to go, but He wanted to stay. In His own words, “If I do not go, the Holy Spirit will not come to you.” Still, He desired to remain with us. He did not want to leave us alone, by ourselves.
So, He cuts through this problem with a solution that continues to astonish many. He does both. He will go, and He will stay. He takes ordinary bread and wine and says, “This is My Body and this is My Blood, given for you. Eat it and drink it, in memory of Me.”
This wasn’t the first time Christ spoke of the Bread of Life. When He preached about the bread that came down from Heaven during His ministry, crowds of His followers felt deeply shocked. He told them He would give them His Body and Blood, and if they did not receive it, they would not have life within them – at least not God’s life. Many could not accept this teaching, and they turned away.
But Jesus did not back down from this command, nor did He compromise it. He was determined to be with us forever, in the Eucharist.
At the Last Supper, Jesus also gives His Apostles a lesson in the meaning of the Eucharist. He does so through a shocking act of humility – He washes their feet. The silence among the chosen 12 must have been deafening. This was a job reserved only for lowly servants, and here was the Lord, the Son of God, performing it Himself.
Peter comes forward and protests. Perhaps, because he saw the radical implications. But washing the feet of others and giving of Himself are symbols of what Jesus is all about. His mandate is clear – it is for us to come together, break bread and serve one another. Christ is alive in us, every time we serve our brothers and sisters.
When we prepare a meal in the kitchen for another. When we help push someone in a wheelchair with a smile. When a nurse dispenses medication to an elderly patient with competence and humor. These simple, yet important moments of service make every day a reflection of Holy Thursday.
Always remember that the Eucharistic Christ lives within us. And the servant Christ is serving through us.