One thing I never expected to witness this year was the price of gas dropping to less than $2/ gallon. I recall four decades ago when oil was in such short supply that we waited in long lines to fill up at the gas pumps. Not only did the price of gas really begin to climb but also the services we once took for granted quickly became things of the past. Today self-service is the norm and when we fill up, we rarely see an attendant, certainly not one who checks our tires and oil.
Neighborhood gas stations, as we once knew them, are a rare sight today. The very name, service station, strikes me as a misnomer; after all, self-service really means no service! With the use of ATM’s, vending machines, self-service cash registers, along with self-service gas stations, we have grown used to the notion of no service. How regrettable! We have programed ourselves to look only after our own needs and not necessarily the needs of others. However normative self-service may seem though, to be a Christian means to be of service to others. That is the lesson the simple gesture of foot washing brings to mind.
How often does the notion of service and charity enter your mind when you partake of the Eucharist? If the idea is absent from your consciousness, then I am afraid that you are missing the point of what the Eucharist is about. To ignore the idea of serving others is not so uncommon though. In the verses preceding what we heard in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he reprimanded them for their lack of charity. Instead of sharing, Paul finds that some were eating and drinking with no concern for those who went hungry.
So why should service be on our minds when we celebrate the Mass and take communion? Consider the event of the Last Supper. At this meal, Jesus totally shared himself with his disciples, doing the unthinkable task that was normally done by a slave. He humbled himself to wash the apostles’ feet. He then told them, “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.”
Jesus isn’t expecting us to literally wash one another’s feet each time we come to Mass, but when we leave here we are to do so with a willingness to serve others. That can be done in so many ways. We should not underestimate the power of small gestures and acts when they are inspired by love.
Jesus invites us to be kind, to smile, to forgive, to brush off annoyances, to not dwell on sad thoughts that give us long faces, to be courteous, to listen, to cook the evening meal or do the dishes, to pitch in around the home doing chores that no one else cares to do. In this year of mercy, we are also urged to practice the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the imprisoned, visit the sick and bury the dead. Each act of service affects our partaking of the Eucharist. Any way we can be of service to others is important because any act of service provides us with the tangible presence of Christ.
The prayers of the consecration remind us of what Jesus said at the Last Supper; that the bread and wine becomes his body and blood. In turn, we say “amen,” believing that the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus. His presence becomes visible when we leave this assembly and do what is being asked of us, serving others when the opportunity arises. When we look beyond ourselves to meet the needs of others, we then live the message of Holy Thursday, “…as I have done for you, you should also do.”