Master, are you going to wash my feet?

We’ve always been given this reminder that for every Church rule you think is imposed on you, there are 10 more a priest goes through, everyday, more so during Lenten Season, especially the Holy Week, in THIS kind of Holy Week. Many of you have called, made suggestions & comments about feeling abandoned, and so on, how to get around the restrictions imposed on all of us. Since, after 10 people including us, it would have been difficult to disperse everyone else, we chose to celebrate the Mass for you and your intentions, in the hopes that, in due time, when we open the Church and celebrate the Sacrament, together.

Notice I said “when we open” instead of reopen? The Church was not closed and never will be.  The building may be closed, yet the Church remains open: YOU are The Church, the Body of Christ.  Some of you are afraid people may not come back. That was happening since the time of Jesus, before this pandemic, it is a possibility now and as long as people lack faith, it will happen again and again.

Jesus told his disciples that anyone who does not eat his flesh nor drink his blood will not have life within him. They left him, complaining that this teaching is hard, who can understand it and so on. Jesus did not say he was only kidding, he did not run after them to persuade them to come back. Jesus was abandoned by most of his followers, Twelve stayed behind, so He asked: “Are you also going to leave me?” to which Peter replied: “Lord, to whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life!” Yet even with this, one still betrayed Him.

All throughout history, humans are well known to do something, “create” something to make everyone else recognize them as great ones; so the latter lords it over the former. When everything goes awry, it’s God’s punishment, the end of the world is closing in upon us, this thing will kill us all. This pandemic is taken by so many as punishment from the heavens, and the so-called great ones have disappeared, enclosed in their mansions; and we have to fend for ourselves. God is once again abandoned, even threatened that once this pandemic is over, we would live without Him. And with this, shall we betray Him?

Jesus was finally with the Twelve in the upper room for what they think was just their annual passover meal, a close circle social at that there are few of them now - Apostles by name, oblivious of what is in the mind and heart of the Master, that this is His Last Supper with them, with anyone. He could have chosen to be with his mother Mary and yet despite their lack of awareness and attention to him, he stayed with them. He took the towel and the water and one by one, he washed their feet. Coming to Peter, who protested: “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.”

Like Peter, we always go the distance thinking God has to do everything for us; yet when God needs us, we go our own merry ways. Hence the words “Not all of you are clean!” What happened is that Peter started fearing the loss of Jesus, fear that brought to his denial of Jesus, fear that struck his soul after that denial it made him stronger in faith, hope and love of God. Someone said fear is either “forget everything and run” or “face everything and rise.” God promised He will be with us until the end of the ages; He will be there to help us rise.

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.”

In the face of feeling abandoned, here’s to hoping and praying this pandemic will end in due time, the world will change its ways, slowly, and we might even go back to our own merry ways. We now ask ourselves what Jesus asked the disciples: “Are you also going to leave me?” The strong will always come back no matter what, no matter when. The weak will either realize they really need God and the Church or have more excuses to not come at all.

This Easter Triduum, let us embrace the life-giving Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and allow ourselves to focus once again: Life matters!