We’re a few days into Holy Week, which is the week that Lucy and I decided to read Pope Benedict’s second book on Jesus of Nazareth, which focuses exclusively on Holy Week.  (Clever, eh?)

Last night I read one particular section – and simply had to pass on my imperfect ‘summary’ of the Pope’s message regarding the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday, plus a few points added by me as setup…

The ancient Mosaic Law (the law of Moses), which the Jews followed, focuses primarily on the external.  Everything has been labeled either ‘clean’ or ‘unclean’, and the laws that they lived by were a constant effort to ‘stay clean’ through a strict avoidance of the unclean, and self-purification by strict washing rituals.  Adhering to the law was a very visible act – anyone who wanted to see if you were holy could simply follow you around and witness what you did.

Jesus replaced that thinking with a focus on the internal.  It is not what you do that makes you holy, but who you are.  Your interior disposition is what’s important – how you think.

More importantly – and perhaps of infinitely more importance – is the realization that no man or woman can purify themselves to the point where they are worthy of standing in God’s presence.  As Benedict writes: “It is the God who comes down to us that makes us clean.  Purity is a gift.”

The ‘washing of the feet’ is the way Jesus drove this point home.  We are ‘cleaned all over’ at Baptism, but during our daily lives, our feet get dirty.  Did Jesus then teach us to go wade in the Jordan?  No – he bent down and washed our feet.  He purges our sin at Baptism, and he purges our sin at each Mass and at each Confession.  Each time we are in his presence, he is kneeling at our feet in the pew, washing the sin from our feet.

Stay clean.  Do not refuse the gift.  Do not ignore the gift, or let it go to waste.  If you need to get something heavy off of your heart, confess.  If you need to wash the ‘simple sins’ of daily life, I’ll see you at Mass.

Peace,
Greg