My family has attended the Triduum for as long as I can remember: Mass on Holy Thursday, continued on Good Friday, and culminated on Easter Sunday morning, with Holy Saturday being a day, almost unconsciously, of spiritual silence and waiting. (We also attend the traditional blessing of the Easter food on Holy Saturday, but that's a subject for a post down the road perhaps.) So this past Holy Thursday, I was back in my home parish once again, sitting with my family, a little tired from the ride back from my undergrad school, but beyond content to be home. Our parish priest began his homily, and he spoke of something relevant to the Gospel (the Washing of the Feet) that I had never heard before.
The scene of this chapter in the Gospel of John is thus: Jesus and the Twelve have gathered for the Passover meal in the upper room. Before they would partake of the meal, everyone's feet were to be washed. All would have participated in the cleansing rituals for the celebration of the Feast already, so the only thing that was in need of washing was their feet. The washing of the feet was one of those "most undesirable jobs" of Jesus' day. The people of that time and place walked everywhere either wearing sandals or barefoot. So, needless to say, their feet would have been filthy. They also didn't have street-cleaners back then, so...you can imagine. Now the apostles are there with Jesus, waiting to partake of the Passover meal. But why are they waiting?
They are waiting to see who will be the one to stoop down and wash everyone's feet. This was seen as the lowest job that the one who saw himself as the least in the group would take up as a service to the rest. Who will be the one to make that act of humility and stoop to wash the feet of the others?
Jesus.
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded.
~John 13:4-5~
Now at this point, I'm sure all of the apostles gathered were in shock and probably humbled themselves. Here is Jesus, their leader, their Lord, making the first move to take the job no one else wants to do and doing it with the heart of a loving servant. Wow.... This is a very humbling moment for me as I read the Gospel with new eyes. How must it have been for the Twelve? I can only imagine.
He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "You are not all clean."
~John 13:6-11~
I love this particular image of this moment. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Peter being portrayed as an old man, but then again, I don't know that he wasn't, so.... It's the emotion in the picture that I think strikes me the most. Peter's obvious discomfort and disgruntled expression. Jesus' bowed head and loving, humble countenance. The apostles in the background, looking shocked, humbled, mystified, and moved by the scene before him. The one on the end hurries to undo his sandals, perhaps wanting to save Jesus that task, or wanting to dive right into the mystery unfolding before him.
Consider also, this is all taking place before Judas leaves. Jesus washes the feet of his apostles, even the one who will hand Him over to His rigged trial and undeserved execution. This is another moment that forces me to come to grips with my own interior disposition. Would I do that? Would I be able to love like Jesus in that moment? In moments of struggle in my own life?
When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 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 as I have done to you."
~John 13:12-15~
These are a few of the parting words Jesus speaks to his apostles. Everything is about to change. Jesus knows it. The apostles are more or less aware that something is about to happen, but Jesus' words continue to mystify them and they struggle to discern what He means when He says He is going away and so they must do this for one another.
What we know follows this exchange is found in the other Gospels. It is not recounted in John's Gospel because John wrote his much later than Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and so those who knew the Gospels had already heard the account of the Last Supper. What John did was to fill in the blanks and recount the stories that had not been told yet. Matthew, Mark, and Luke recount to us the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. But also, with the words "Do this in remembrance of Me," spoken to the Twelve alone, gathered with Jesus at that particular moment for a particular reason, He establishes the priesthood. These men receive the gift from Jesus to do His work: to administer the sacraments (especially the Eucharist and Penance), to preach and to teach (signified by the commission of the apostles and the moment when Jesus gives to Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven), and to wash the feet of every member of the Church in whatever situation they may find themselves. They are to be the least in the kingdom, putting themselves at the service of the whole Church. And I will take this moment to borrow an illustration from my Scripture professor, Dr. John Bergsma:
People can often mistakenly think that the Pope is at the top of the "chain of command," that the bishops and priests are his "minions," if you will, and that the rest of the Church (laity, religious) rank the lowest and serve the priests, bishops, and Holy Father. But this comes from a very secular view of leadership; not from Christ's example of leadership, which the Church strives to follow.
The example that Christ shows throughout His life, but especially at the moment of the Last Supper, He Who would lead must be the servant of all. He even says in the Gospel of Luke:
For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves.
~Luke 22:27~
Jesus is greater than all of the apostles. Yet where is He? Stooped low, washing their feet. So what does leadership look like? Flip that drawing up above upside down.
The Holy Father is at the service of the Bride of Christ to care for her, protect her, and keep her in the truth. He cannot do this astronomical task alone so God has given him the help of the bishops and priests. So the Holy Father also serves those who help him, who then, in turn, serve all of the faithful.
It is not uncommon these days to run into the question about why didn't Jesus ordain women. Now, only Jesus Himself can tell us the answer to that question. However, we must not forget that it is this same Jesus Who directs the decisions of His Church through the Holy Spirit. The constant Tradition of the Church (not "tradition" as in rituals and practices that the Church preserves for piety; but Tradition, which is that which has been revealed by God, while perhaps not directly stated in Scripture). St. John the Evangelist, and other New Testament writers, accounts for this by saying "There are many other things that Jesus said and did which are not written in this book; but these are written that you might believe." So how do we know we can trust the Tradition of the Church? The confidence we have in the Tradition of the Church is not only in the Holy Spirit, but in the witness of the apostles and the martyrs who were willing to (and did) die for the preservation of what had been revealed to them by Jesus and that they knew to be true. In Paul's letter to Timothy, he exhorts him desperately to guard the deposit entrusted to him. Why? Because there are many who wish to twist it to suit their own preferences and motives. To trust the Church is to trust the Holy Spirit; to trust the Holy Spirit, is to trust the One Who has sent the Holy Spirit: Jesus. To trust Jesus, is to trust the one Who sent Jesus: the Father. The Church is cherished by God because she has been established to bring as many as possible into His kingdom for all eternity. So God protects her with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and a Teaching Office, the Magisterium, established to guard the deposit.
It is also important to note the difference between dogma, doctrine, and discipline at this point. These are different levels of Church teaching. A dogma is an official definition of a particular teaching in order to make it as clear as possible what the Church teaches about this particular topic. A doctrine is no less binding than a dogma. It just isn't officially and specifically defined by the Church because the need to define it like that has not arisen, or an official teaching on a particular doctrine or topic of doctrine may never have been made.
In other words, both doctrines and dogmas are infallible teachings of the Church. What qualifies as a doctrine? Anything that the Church has taught definitively throughout the ages, and officially through a public teaching on the subject. An infallible teaching is not always something that the Pope declares officially of his own accord. That is an ex cathedra statement. It may be a teaching that proceeds from an ecumenical council, that is a gathering of all the bishops for the purpose of clarifying the teachings on a particular subject.
A discipline is different. A discipline is a practice of the Church adopted for a particular time and place. A known discipline is the celibacy of priests. This was not the constant practice of the Church: most of the apostles were married when Jesus called them to follow him. But eventually, the Church, being sensitive to the demanding lifestyle of priests and the challenges this could create for their families, decided that it would be wise to ask priests to live celibate lives, given completely to the service of Christ and His Church. The discipline was also adopted to better model the priesthood of Christ, who lived a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
But the Church is continually guided by the Holy Spirit in these matters to know what teachings are not able to be changed. The Church cannot change that Jesus made the decision at the moment He ordained His followers to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and the moment He ordained them to forgive sins, there were only men present. Jesus was intentional about everything that He did. This was no accident, and it certainly was not because He was worried about what people would think if He had chosen to have women present at the Passover. Did concern for public opinion ever drive what Jesus did? He did it for a reason. I cannot say that I know clearly what that reason is; but, I trust in my Lord and the Church He has given us to guard His teachings and lead us to Him. I also trust this: our Lord, the one High Priest, as He is called in the letter to the Hebrews, and the One from Whom the whole priesthood of the Catholic Church flows, came to earth as a man for a reason. Can I say what that reason is? No. But I know that I can trust my God to know what He is doing, even if I do not understand fully.
And if you are going to bring up Pope Francis' statement about investigating the possibility for women in the diaconate, please read this. It's also worth noting that just a few months ago the Holy Father, when asked about ordination of women, was very clear that the teaching of St. John Paul II in Ordinatio sacerdotalist on this matter was the final word, and St. John Paul II firmly upheld that because Christ did not choose women as apostles (as is apparent in that the women who followed Jesus are never called apostles, and as is apparent by the fact that they were not present at the Last Supper).
I would, finally, like to bring forth a reflection that I have had recently. I've been wondering for months if I should even write this post because of the heat it may receive. But I felt this reflection was helpful to me, so maybe it would be helpful to someone else.
A discipline is different. A discipline is a practice of the Church adopted for a particular time and place. A known discipline is the celibacy of priests. This was not the constant practice of the Church: most of the apostles were married when Jesus called them to follow him. But eventually, the Church, being sensitive to the demanding lifestyle of priests and the challenges this could create for their families, decided that it would be wise to ask priests to live celibate lives, given completely to the service of Christ and His Church. The discipline was also adopted to better model the priesthood of Christ, who lived a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
But the Church is continually guided by the Holy Spirit in these matters to know what teachings are not able to be changed. The Church cannot change that Jesus made the decision at the moment He ordained His followers to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and the moment He ordained them to forgive sins, there were only men present. Jesus was intentional about everything that He did. This was no accident, and it certainly was not because He was worried about what people would think if He had chosen to have women present at the Passover. Did concern for public opinion ever drive what Jesus did? He did it for a reason. I cannot say that I know clearly what that reason is; but, I trust in my Lord and the Church He has given us to guard His teachings and lead us to Him. I also trust this: our Lord, the one High Priest, as He is called in the letter to the Hebrews, and the One from Whom the whole priesthood of the Catholic Church flows, came to earth as a man for a reason. Can I say what that reason is? No. But I know that I can trust my God to know what He is doing, even if I do not understand fully.
And if you are going to bring up Pope Francis' statement about investigating the possibility for women in the diaconate, please read this. It's also worth noting that just a few months ago the Holy Father, when asked about ordination of women, was very clear that the teaching of St. John Paul II in Ordinatio sacerdotalist on this matter was the final word, and St. John Paul II firmly upheld that because Christ did not choose women as apostles (as is apparent in that the women who followed Jesus are never called apostles, and as is apparent by the fact that they were not present at the Last Supper).
I would, finally, like to bring forth a reflection that I have had recently. I've been wondering for months if I should even write this post because of the heat it may receive. But I felt this reflection was helpful to me, so maybe it would be helpful to someone else.
The sinful woman who washes the feet of Jesus. It is a beautiful, beautiful moment in the Gospels.
But let's take this, for a moment, and place it alongside the moment in John 13. The apostles are all sitting there waiting for the first person to make the move to humble himself and wash everyone's feet.
What does the woman do? She rushes into the room, falls at the feet of Jesus, and washes His feet with her tears and dries them with her hair. She must have been aching to do this. And through it she shows her great love for the Lord and repentance for her sins.
It is not always the case, perhaps, but more often than not in my own experience, women are quick to respond to the needs of others and to serve those needs, even at personal cost. Think of all the mothers you know who do this for their children everyday. Now I am certainly not saying that fathers do not serve their families and make sacrifices everyday. I know that my own father does this alongside my mother every day of my life. But there is almost a greater challenge for men, who are usually comfortable enough in the leadership position, to stoop down in humility like the sinful woman in the Gospel does. For me, at least, there is a certain romance and attractiveness to that selflessness and a beauty to the way that she does not care what others think but simply wants to show Jesus that she is sorry and that she loves Him. I'm not a man, so I can't speak for them as a whole, but...maybe that's harder. The images in the Gospels would make it seem so.
Where am I going with all of this?
I would simply like to offer the perspective that perhaps in the controversial issue of the ordination of women, we are missing the point. First of all, the priesthood is not about authority so much as it is about service. Secondly, what is the greater sacrifice for women? For men? Perhaps the greater sacrifice for the woman is the humility to accept that the Holy Spirit has not led the Church to the ordination of women and so she must find other ways to serve the Church (and there are many other ways). Perhaps the greater sacrifice for the man is the humility to put himself at the service of the whole Church, should God be calling him to it, in a vocation that can be spiritually rewarding, but also incredibly difficult and, at times, a thankless ministry.
Before signing off, I would like to ask that the comments box not become a place for heated argument and ridicule. There is no context, facial expressions, or body language offered in a comments box, so if you would like to talk to people about this in a way that treats them like people and where you can pick up on (better, anyways) what you should and should not say, please talk to people about this in person and not through a screen. Finally, as a disclaimer, I would like to say that my sole purpose in writing this post has been to share with you my thoughts on the subject in light of the teachings of the Church and the inspired Scriptures. You have a free will, and if you do not like what I say, you are free to ignore it. In the words of St. Peter:
Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.
So I would ask that you please be mindful of your demeanor if you do respond to this post. Before you answer, ask yourself: "Is this for God's glory, or my own?" Please remember the dignity of all those who may be reading this post.
Until our next meeting, pace e bene,
the Itinerant Catechist
