I have recently officiated at several funeral services in quick succession. The cumulation was so exceptional that a friend of mine made a rather risqué comment: “People are dying to see you.” Usually, funerals are quite sombre events, and understandably so, as the family and friends bid farewell to someone who has been an indispensable part of their lives for a very long time, leaving behind an unfillable void. Most often, a eulogy or tribute to the deceased is part of the service. Usually delivered by a family member or close friend, they offer insights into the person’s life, revealing specific quirks, traits, or eccentricities. Most memorable was that the deceased, having retired from work, embarked with the spouse on SKI-ing – not the winter sport, but the abbreviation of “Spending Kids’ Inheritance.” It was said jokingly, and you could sense the eulogist’s great love for the deceased. In truth, most parents want to leave their children something more than memories. It’s also true that, in a broader sense, when our invincibility of youth gradually gives way to aches, pains, and the creaks of old age, we start thinking about what legacy we will leave behind, often taking care of it by writing a legally binding will. It comes into force only after we have shuffled off this mortal coil, and in a sense, it allows us to control things from behind the tomb. This custom, known and practised for millennia, was at the heart of the events we are celebrating tonight and will continue through to Sunday.
The Last Supper, as it’s commonly known, was Jesus’ final, solemn meal with his disciples. The gospel of St John devoted five chapters, almost one quarter of the whole piece, to that particular event. It began with Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, as we have just heard, followed by extensive talks about their feelings of sadness, outlining their future, offering consolation and promises of never abandoning them to their own devices. Jesus closed the meal with a solemn prayer to the Father for his disciples and those who would join them. The whole episode paints a picture of Jesus deeply, deeply caring for his disciples and leaving them his will, or testament, to use an old-fashioned term. What might be a bit surprising in this five-chapter-long narrative is that John never mentioned the institution of the Eucharist, as clearly depicted in the other gospels and St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, as we heard in tonight’s second reading. The reason for this strange omission was simple: when John composed his gospel, the celebration of the Eucharist was well established in Christian communities. They faced a different challenge. They initially expected a quick return of Jesus in glory, but as years and decades passed, they began to wonder whether they had been abandoned by their Lord. St John’s extended narrative reminded his audience of Jesus’ promises in order to strengthen their resolve to carry on. By placing it in the context of the Last Supper, St John firmly reiterated the Eucharist, although never directly depicted, as the source of such strength and resolve. How so?
There is one hugely significant difference between anyone’s written will and that of Jesus. In the case of the former, having passed away, the deceased has no control over the execution of their will. It can be challenged by those who feel unjustly omitted, or insufficiently rewarded, or for many other reasons, real or imagined. Jesus’ testament or will, as expressed at the Last Supper, worked in a completely different way, and it must be considered in connection with his voluntary death on the cross and his rising from the dead. At the heart of his will was charitable, even sacrificial love as the driving force behind one’s life. Jesus demonstrated it by washing his disciples’ feet, usually the job of the lowest rank servant, explained by his following comment: “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” It wasn’t just a theatrical gesture. The following day, Jesus gave his life up on the cross for the sake of his disciples and, more broadly, entire humankind – something we will reflect on tomorrow at the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion. Until the moment Jesus’ dead body was buried, his testament and everyone else’s were no different. Everything changed with Jesus’ resurrection. Having defeated death, Jesus’ will wasn’t just a set of instructions to be followed and fulfilled by his disciples by their own efforts. Since then, through his loving presence in the Holy Spirit, Jesus has been actively supporting and leading his followers to live out his teachings. We can experience that particularly when we celebrate the Eucharist. The penitential act at the beginning reminds us that God’s mercy is unlimited. In the biblical readings, we are consoled, reminded or challenged, so that we can live up to the standards expected of Jesus’ disciples. In the Holy Communion, we receive the food giving us the strength to do so: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
