“THE HOUR HAS COME”

THE SACRED PASCHAL TRIDUUM:

THURSDAY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Ex. 12: 1-8.11-14 / Ps 116 / 1 Cor. 11: 23-26 / Jn. 13: 1-15

The Book of Qoheleth has always told us that there is a “time for everything.” There is a time to get rich and a time to become poor; a time to live and a time to die; a time to be kicking and a time to be sleepy; a time to fall in love and a time to be brokenhearted. However, what is more important and crucial is that if that time has come for us. Yes, there is a time to die, but what if it is your time to die? Yes, there is a time to be brokenhearted, but what if it is your time to be brokenhearted?

In our Gospel today, John tells us right at the beginning of his narrative that the time / the hour has come for Jesus to pass from this world to the next. If in Genesis, Adam tried to grasp divinity for himself. In our Gospel this evening, Jesus moved towards the opposite direction. Jesus took on human flesh for him to take hold of us. And this movement of Jesus is brought about by love. But we ask ourselves, what kind of love? Commenting on the washing of feet, Benedict XVI has this to say that “the gesture of washing feet expresses precisely this: it is the servant – love of Jesus that draws us out our pride and makes us fit for God.”

My dear friends, as we begin the first day of our Triduum for Easter, we are reminded today that our time has come, the hour has come for us to also move away from our sinful self towards grace. The time has come for us to leave our proud self and move towards the other. And this movement can only happen if we have a “servant – love.” For this transformation to happen, our love must be like a servant – it must be humble. A love that listens to others. A love that forgets the self for others even to the point of losing your own life.

Last March 4, we heard about the murder of 4 Missionaries of Charity Sisters in Yemen by the ISIS. Aside from the four, it was also reported that there was a Salesian priest named Fr. Tom who was abducted by the gunmen. Just last Holy Monday, I saw in Facebook, a report that there was an information about Fr. Tom being currently tortured. It was also said that he will be crucified on Good Friday by his abductors. Why am I telling you this? Because the lives of the 4 sisters and Fr. Tom are best examples of this so-called, “servant – love.” These Christians were not military people. They were not armed with guns and grenades. They were simply serving the poor and the old. They were simply serving others in love.

How about us? What kind of love do you have for your family, for your husband, for your wife, for your children, for your relatives? Is it a “servant – love?” Is it a love that washes the feet of others? Is it a love that pushes you to serve others in humility?

My dear friends, the time has come. The hour has come for you and me to leave sin and love the Lord and others through our humble service. Time’s up! Turn away from sin and turn to Jesus, our servant – lover. Amen.