Rituals are part of human life. In fact, we might define humanity as the animal that makes rituals. We say grace before meals to remind us of the gifts of God. A soldier salutes a superior officer as recognition of the chain of command. The honoree blows out the candles on their birthday cake to acknowledge the passing of years. Before a ball game the Star Spangled Banner is sung and in school the pledge of allegiance is said to exhibit patriotism for country. On the fourth Thursday of November the family gathers around the Thanksgiving Turkey. We ritualize special moments in life such as graduation with a cap and gown or retirement with the gold watch. Think of all the rituals associated with a wedding: the dress, the photographer, the flowers, walking down the aisle, the first dance, cutting the cake, jumping the broom and many more beside. Perhaps there are so many rituals associated with a wedding because it does not merely symbolize an event – the ritual action of saying “I do” actually brings about what is celebrated. The ritual of a wedding produces a marriage. The ritual creates something. Other rituals work in a similar way. The new mayor will take office after the ritual of taking his oath. A sergeant becomes one upon receiving his stripes at the promotion ceremony. These kinds of rituals produce the effect they signify.
On this Holy Thursday we use rituals to connect us with Jesus. We use the ritual of receiving the oils blessed by the bishop as a witness to the fact that it is in the stuff of life – bread, wine, water, oil – that we can find the presence of God. God is not content to remain in heaven above it all but can be found in creation which is the work of the divine fingers. We use the ritual of washing of feet to remind us that if we want to find Jesus we do so in loving service. Jesus said, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Following the model of Jesus and serving him in the least of the brothers and sisters is what makes us part of the Jesus family.
Of course, the most important ritual this evening is when we do as Jesus did at the Last Supper. We give thanks, break the bread and bless the wine “in remembrance of him.” Think of Peter, Andrew, James and John, think of Mary Magdalene and Martha and Salome in the days, months, years after that Last Supper. Jesus was no longer walking among them but he was still with them when they heeded his word “Do this in remembrance of me.” Their beloved Lord was present whenever the community gathered to celebrate. Jesus had promised “I will be with you always,” and he fulfilled that promise around the Eucharistic table. Those who had seen him and touched him and heard him felt that everything about him continued in the sacrament they celebrated together. This ritual does, in fact, produce what it symbolizes – the real presence of Jesus in our midst.
We gather on this evening, in other words, to encounter Christ – to feel him in our hearts and in our lives. We celebrate the Last Supper not as an historical artifact, not as a pious memory, not as a nostalgic commemoration but as current events. Jesus is with us here right now. We are the Samaritan woman seeking living water. We are the man born blind seeking some light, some direction in our lives. We are Martha and Mary grieving losses that seem too heavy to bear. And, yes sadly, we are the disciples who betray, deny and abandon him. At this table his every word, every gesture, every feeling is made available to us. Jesus heals us, pardons us, welcomes us as we celebrate him in this bread and wine. You are what you eat, goes the saying. We encounter Christ in order to become Christ around the table of the Lord.
As the story of the washing of the feet tells us, we have a concrete way of living out our encounter with Christ – love. We feel Jesus’ love for us in this gift that he left us of his real presence in Holy Communion. We share Jesus’ love when we gather as a community to care for each other and support each other. We extend Jesus’ love by making sure that the hungry are fed, the sick are visited, those mourning are consoled, those who feel lost find their way home. We embody the love of Jesus in seeing his face in all those who are woven into our lives, particularly those on the margins. Our encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist transforms us into those who love just as we have been loved. That is a ritual worth celebrating. This is what makes us Christian.
