Gospel: Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26
The disciples want to prepare for the Passover Feast and
come to Jesus looking for instructions.
He tells them to find a man carrying a water jar and to follow him. This seems like a curious but insignificant
detail. We might even wonder how it is
that such a person could even be recognized in a city as large as
Jerusalem. We moderns are unaware of how
significant this man is in the story.
It would be unheard of for a man to carry a water jar. This would be the work of women. Even a male slave would not carry a water
jar. So, it would be rather easy to spot
a man carrying a water jar in public.
That this man does so represents the ultimate act of humble
service. How likely it is that this very
water jar would be used by Jesus in the washing of feet, another act of
ultimate humble service for others.
It is in this context that we find the Eucharistic
celebration. The Eucharist is in itself
a statement of belief, a creed if you will.
In receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord we accept the mission of
humble service that was the mission of Jesus, embodied by this man carrying a
water jar to the place of the new Passover, but in this Passover we pass over
into humble service of others from a life of self-interest and
self-promotion. To receive the Body and
Blood of the Lord is to receive this mission and this identity.
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