He Gives Himself Away!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord’s Supper 

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Thursday, April 1, 2021

The 19th century German philosopher, Georg Friedrich Hegel said that all human society is characterized by master-slave dynamic. By this he means that every society is marked by the tendency of some to aggressively seize power and influence and to keep others at bay. In every human organization, there are insiders and outsiders, privileged ones and marginalized ones, those who are up and those who are down. And those who are up, the privileged ones are usually interested in keeping things just the way they are. Now, it will be a mistake to look at this purely from geopolitical standpoint because during school days, many of us saw this master-slave dynamic in full display. The cool kids, the privileged groups, those who were up wanted things to remain the way they were even if it means keeping others down. But long before Hegel, the great St. Augustine while criticizing the Roman society of his time identified what he called in Latin the libido dominandi (i.e. the lust to dominate). For St. Augustine, libido dominandi, the lust to dominate others which is a kind of master-slave dynamic is the mark of a dysfunctional society. Now, long before Hegel and St. Augustine, the authors of the Old Testament were also keenly interested in this problem because the central story of the Old Testament is the story of slavery and liberation from slavery. The First Reading taken from the Book of Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 is about the Passover meal, the hour of liberation from slavery. The Israelites have been slaves for four hundred years in Egypt, four hundred years of oppression. Then in the great act of liberation, God brings them out of Egypt to freedom. By breaking their chains, the God of Israel shows essentially what he is about, which is, overcoming the master-slave dynamic. Interestingly, after Israel has established itself as a great nation, the Hebrew prophets warn them to treat the foreigners living among them as native-born, to love them as they love themselves, for they were foreigners in Egypt (Lev. 19:34).

In 30 AD, Jesus of Nazareth appears in the hills of Galilee and declares: The Kingdom of God is at hand.  To know what characterizes this Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus, read the Sermon on the mount in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. What will the members of God’s Kingdom be like? Jesus says they should not hunger for domination, rather righteousness and meekness. They should not be stuck in the principle of “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” rather embrace mercy and radical compassion. If someone asks for a quarter dollar, and you have a dollar, give it to them. If someone asks for a service and you are able to do it, get on with it. And love, not just your relatives, neighbors and friends, but also your enemies. Jesus says when they attend a party, they should not take the highest place, rather take their seat at the lowest place. They should sit with little guys on purpose. When they give a party, they should not invite the high and mighty alone who can pay you back, but also invite the poor, those at the margins of the society who can’t pay them back. As we all know, Jesus, in his own life and ministry, practiced open table fellowship. Yes, he sat with the scholars, pharisees etc. but he also invited sinners, tax collectors, the sick, and the poor. At the heart of these, sisters and brothers, Jesus is overturning all forms of master-slave dynamic, all forms of libido dominandi. 

With these in mind, what does today’s Gospel say? At the climax of his life, Jesus gathers with his Twelve Apostles. Reclining at table, Jesus rises and does something so strange. He takes off his outer garment, puts a towel around himself and begins to do a work that is only reserved for the lowest of the slaves. He begins to wash their feet. We’ve become used to this liturgical practice of washing feet on Holy Thursday that we forget how unnerving this practice was. It was a bridge too far for Peter and that’s why he balked and said, Lord, you will never wash my feet. The closest analogy to this is, let’s say you are invited to a formal dinner by a very distinguished host. You get seated just like the host and every other invited guests. Then all of a sudden, the host takes off his tuxedo jacket, bends down and begins to shine the shoes of the guests. I bet you, you will be shellshocked and most likely embarrassed. That’s how the disciples felt when Jesus begins to wash their feet. But what is Jesus doing? He is overturning the master-slave dynamic and  setting for us the distinctive mark of his Kingdom. 

In the second reading taken from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, we witness the greatest and the most profound overturning of the master-slave dynamic. St. Paul’s account of the Last Supper is the earliest reference we have in the Bible of the Eucharist. St. Paul wrote a decade or so before the first Gospel was written. He recalls what Jesus did. He took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” Check this out! At the climax of his life, at the climax of his ministry, Jesus expresses the fullness of the Kingdom of God and sums up what he’s all about. If you are stuck in the master-slave dynamic, you are interested in getting to the top and staying there even at the detriment of everyone else. You are interested in keeping people at bay as much as you can. You are interested in grabbing and maintaining your position. What did Jesus do as he sums up what his life and ministry is all about? He gives himself away! He says, “This is my Body.” “This is my Blood.” At the highpoint of his life, Jesus does not grab or seeks to grab authority, position, power, rather he lets them go. In the washing of the feet, he becomes the slave. In the giving of his Body and Blood, he gives his entire self away. In those acts, Jesus points to us our entry into the dynamics of God’s Kingdom. St. Pope John Paul II talked about the law of the gift which says “Your being increases in the measure you give it away.” That is the law of the Kingdom of God; it is the antithesis of the master-slave dynamic which says that your life increases the more you grab and hang on to it. The question that this Holy Thursday poses is: How can we make our lives a gift? How can we strive to undermine the dynamics of master-slave relationships and give ourselves away?