Understood in light of the washing of feet, the Eucharist is a place of
restoration for people on the way. The life of a Christian in the world is a
pilgrimage, a long, hard journey. Along the way we get tired and worn out and
we are tempted to give up and turn back. But Jesus has provided us with the
Eucharist as a place where we can go in to bathe our aching feet and to be
refreshed in body and soul for the journey that is still ahead. When we give
communion to a sick person we call it viaticum which means "provisions for
a journey." The Eucharist is always a viaticum: in the Eucharist we derive
strength to continue our upward journey toward God.
In the story we find that Peter was uncomfortable with having Jesus wash
his feet. Peter, who was somewhat of an activist, would have preferred to see
himself doing the washing, washing the feet of Jesus and even of the other
disciples. Sometimes it is harder to remain passive and allow someone else to
bathe us than it is to bathe someone else, as every toddler can tell you. But
having our feet washed and washing the feet of others are two sides of the coin
we call the Christian life.
The first and most essential part is to let the Lord wash us. As Jesus
said to Peter, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me (John
13:8). First, the Lord washes us clean so that we belong to the Lord. Only then
are we qualified and empowered to wash the feet of our sisters and brothers in
the Lord. When this truth dawned on Peter, he overcame his reluctance and cried
out, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"
(v. 9). For this to happen all that the Lord needs from us is simply for us to
be there, to present ourselves to him and to let him wash us.
The other side of the coin, which is equally important, is that after
our feet have been washed by the Lord, we must go and wash the feet of others.
After Jesus had washed his disciples' feet, he said to them:
Do you know what I have
done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord -- and you are right, for that is
what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also
should do as I have done to you (John 13:12-15).
Jesus establishes a close link between him
washing the disciples' feet and the disciples washing the feet of others. If
the Eucharist is the place where the Lord washes our feet, daily life is the
place where we ought to wash the feet of others. Eucharist leads to life leads
to Eucharist. True Eucharist piety must lead to service of others. Jesus who
broke the bread of the Eucharist also washed the feet of his disciples. We must
follow his example both at the altar of the Eucharist and at the altar of life.
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