Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Our Lady of Grace
April 1, 2010
John and No Last Supper Account!
By Nicholas P. Amato
John Versus the Synoptics
To understand the revelation that Jesus teaches us at this Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we must note the differences between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke
Curiously, there is no Last Supper account in John and each of the other three do have an account of Passover Meal with Jesus before his Passion and Death.
And doesn’t it seem strange to call the Mass on Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and then not include an account of the Last Supper?
We actually did hear an account of the Last Supper, but it comes in the Second Reading from 1 Corinthians, where we hear, “On the night he was handed over, took bread, and Jesus took wine.’
The question still remains, why this Gospel of John with no Last Supper account tonight?
Jesus’ Passover
First, let’s look at Jesus’ Passover.
The Gospel begins by telling us that Jesus realizes that “the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father,” and further, that Jesus is “fully aware that he had come from God and was going to God.”
In other words, it is the hour of Jesus’ passing over, or Jesus’ Passover.
You will remember that early in John’s Gospel Jesus is presented as “the Lamb of God,” that is, the new Passover lamb whose blood gives life.
In this section of the Gospel, John again emphasizes this theme by describing Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, not as the Passover meal as in the Synoptics, but as occurring “before the feast of Passover.”
Mystery solved: Jesus dies at the time the Passover lambs are being slain in preparation for the Passover.
So the point is that we’re looking at Jesus’ passing over not the Passover Supper!
Deeper Understanding
A second point regarding this Gospel on this evening has to do with a deeper understanding of washing.
Jesus’ dialogue with Peter about the necessity of Peter being washed in order to have a share in Jesus’ heritage is obviously about more than foot washing.
John presents Jesus in a dialogue in which Jesus’ words should be understood allegorically, that is they should be interpreted as revealing a hidden meaning.
When we hear Peter say, “You will never wash my feet” Peter’s thinking feet. But in Jesus’ answer, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me” Jesus is thinking Baptism. See the hidden meaning?
Peter then wants to have not only his feet washed, but his hands and head as well. Jesus continues to talk about Baptism when he says that the one who has bathed is “entirely cleansed” and has no need of further washing.
What I Do, Do
Finally, we have something called the Mandatum, Latin for “The Sending.”
By introducing the foot-washing scene, John makes it clear that the hour of Jesus’ passing over has precipitated the foot washing, and that the foot washing, at the allegorical or hidden meaning level, is connected to Baptism.
And as we heard, Jesus tells his disciples that his actions are to serve as an example for them.
Yes, the disciples must do for others what Jesus has done for them.
What has he done?
(1) He’s acted as a lowly servant by washing their feet; we must do the same with coworker and the poor
(2) He’s laid down his life for them as the Passover Lamb; we must do the same dying to our bad habits
(3) He has washed them clean in Baptism so they may go where he is going; we must help others in their faith.
Conclusion
With these lessons of Jesus’ Passover, the Washing as our Baptism, and the Sending, let us now act by washing each other’s feet and feeding on the Pascal Lamb as we too pass over from death to new life.
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