Weekly HOMILY for April 9, 2009: HOLY THURSDAY The Exoduses in Our Lives

Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace
April 9, 2009

The Exoduses in Our Lives
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Last Evening’s Passover

Last evening at sundown our Jewish friends and neighbors began their celebration of Passover.

This evening at sundown we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and Jesus’ Washing of the Feet of his disciples.

All three events – the Passover, the Last Supper, and the Washing of Feet have a similar meaning, that of passing over from slavery and death to new life and promise.

All three can be seen as an Exodus.


Jews’ Exodus

“Exodus” and our English word “Exit” have the same Greek root, meaning to go or leave. The Exodus thus was the departure or leaving of the Jewish People from Egypt.

Each of our three readings calls us to observe and apply three different, though connected, exoduses that we as followers of Jesus claim as central to our faith.

The first of the three exoduses took place 1,300 before the birth of Jesus.

The Jews under the leadership of Moses are lead out of slavery across the Red Sea into the Sinai Desert and eventually to the Promised Land.

Scripture tells us that the Lord God told his People to remember and observe what he had done for them there, by celebrating a special meal each year. This meal was called the Passover because it recalls the passing over of God’s Chosen People from slavery to freedom.

We hear this meal described in tonight’s first reading from the Book of Exodus.

The Passover Meal that began last evening brings Jews together and fuses their past and their present. The kind of food they eat and the way they eat it makes present again, the saving event of the original Exodus.

At the same time, it expresses their faith that God will continue to save them from evil in the present. In other words, the meal deepens their trust that God will perform other exodus events for them on their journey of faith.


Jesus’ Exodus

That takes us to the second exodus event that is before us this evening – this one occurs around the year 30 of the Common Era. We hear about it in the section of tonight’s second reading from St. Paul.

Jesus is celebrating that same Jewish Passover Meal with his Apostles that we just heard about. In doing this, he recalls that first Exodus, but notice, he adds something new.

(1) Jesus makes the bread and wine that they are having at the meal into a whole new reality. He consecrates it as his own body and blood that is to be sacrificed for us.

(2) And then, he also tells his Apostles to celebrate this meal in memory of his departure, his going out of, his exodus from this world.

Once again, as with the Passover Meal of the Old Testament, the Last Supper fuses the past with the present. It recalls Jesus’ exodus from this world through crucifixion and death to his resurrection.

This meal gives us in this present moment a communion with him and communicates to us the very life of God.


Our Exodus

Which brings us to the third exodus that is taking place in our hearing this very evening. This exodus is based on the section of tonight’s reading from the Gospel of John.

We are told that Jesus washes the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper and after doing so, he tells them, “As I have done, so you must do.”

Jesus’ actions and words define what our exodus is for us today. We are being called to a departure, from our slavery to the sin of the past to a new freedom of love and service of others.

As did the Jewish Passover and the Last Supper, this action also fuses the past bondage with the present liberation. We recall Jesus’ words and we move forward from them.

For example:

➢ “As I have washed your feet like a slave, so you must wash the feet of each other and serve one another.” And so I let my feet be washed and I wash another’s.

➢ “As I have loved you without limit or condition, so you must love one another without limit or condition.” And so I resolve today to see my enemy or a former friend with a new perspective.

➢ “As I am about to suffer and die for you, so you must suffer and, if necessary, die for one another.” And so I resolve to sacrifice time and effort for the good of others and not always seek first what is best for me.

Such actions are exodus experiences that engage us personally today.


Conclusion

Yes, the Jewish People know well how to celebrate their liberation from slavery.

And tonight, we are able to depart from our own selfishness and sin and live again that exodus in the Eucharist and the washing of one another’s feet.