Maundy Thursday Homily:

The three dimensions of today’s celebration are inlaid and perfectly oven as precious stones in a beautiful necklace:

a) The institution of the Holy Eucharist

b) The ordination of Priesthood, and

c) The new commandment of Love

The Institution of the Holy Eucharist: The first reading from the book of Exodus is a wonderful background to the Gospel in which the Passover is repeated in a new setting and as a new covenant.

Old Testament / New Testament
Must procure for a lamb / The Lamb of Sacrifice is Jesus
If a family is too small for a whole lamb it shall join the nearest household in procuring one
and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. / The Holy Communion, which is the Body and Blood of Jesus, is to be shared by the whole church as a Sacrament.
The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish.
/ Jesus Christ is the Lamb without blemish
It shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.
/ The Eucharist was instituted during the Supper in the evening twilight in the upper room
They shall take some of its blood
and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel
of every house in which they partake of the lamb. The blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you;
/ The blood of Jesus is applied onto the mouths of every person who drinks it from the one cup of blessing. The angel of death will Passover them and we will be saved even though death threatens.
(It is essential to know that it is important that we be always in a state of receiving the holy communion. For those who for some reason or the other who choose not to communicate or live outside Holy Communion are certainly facing the death-threat from the ‘Diablo.’)
Jesus took the cup and gave thanks and blessing and said, “This is the cup of my blood which is poured out for the forgiveness of many.”
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
/ The transubstantiation happens in a miraculous way turning the unleavened bread into the body of Christ. Jesus took the bread and gave thanks to God, and said, “Eat and this my body.”
You shall eat like those who are in flight.
/ We are eating the body of Christ like those who take flight from the presence of Satan. In fact it is the Satan who takes flight from us, when we eat the Body of Christ and drink his blood.
"This day shall be a memorial feast for you,
which all your generations shall celebrate
with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution." / Jesus said, “Do this in memory of me.” Mass is the memorial of the Last Supper and it is a command that all his disciples should do it. That is why the obligation of Sunday Mass is in place. Those who choose not to attend the Sunday Mass for reasons of laziness or disbelief are either not strictly followers of Christ or they are disobeying the command of the Lord.

The ordination of Priesthood:

Jesus Ordained the twelve Apostles as priests so they can follow the command of Jesus, “Do this in memory of me.” For almost three years Jesus ate with his disciples but never did he say, “Do this in memory of me.” During the last supper he did it in a special way. His command applied only to the 11 Apostles. (Judas had left the seen before the institution of the Eucharist. The morsel that he received from Jesus before he went was the ordinary food that they all ate before Jesus took bread and gave thanks and said that this is his body and took the cup and said this is his blood.)

This priesthood that he instituted is not a domineering position but of servitude. He demonstrated this by washing their feet. And washing their feet was to be a model that Jesus did according to his culture, circumstances and need. This model is to be adopted in the culture, circumstances and needs of each individual person and communities all around the world. The washing of the feet just means that leaders and others in the church are to be servants to all they serve. “The Son of Man came to serve and not to be served” is true in the washing of the feet of the disciples. Now the confirmation students should understand that even they are called to serve their community.

The Command of Love:

Love one another and I have loved you:

First of all, loving our neighbor is not a suggestion. For Christians, it is a command. Love stretches to all sections of people: the poor, the sick, the suffering, the strangers and even to the enemies. This commandment was given during the Last Supper as a distinct executive order different but as a culmination of all other preaching and teaching of Jesus during his public ministry.