A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35

I have to admit. I am not a fan of the washing of the feet. I know that some people find it moving during the Maundy Thursday service. I am not one of these people. I always feel a little anxious whenever the celebrant calls people to the front to wash their feet. I get a little stressed out whenever this happens. It is not that I am worried that my socks may have holes and sometimes they do. It is just that I feel a little awkward. I mean it is not a custom in modern times or at least where we live to wash one’s feet. Besides, if I were to suggest doing this with one of our youth, they might be think that I am an odd fellow to say least. This does not mean we shouldn’t stop doing something just because it makes us feel awkward. I think liturgy should challenge us. It should make us think about how we live our lives. The symbols used should remind us of our higher vocation. There are many things in the liturgy of Last Supper which are challenging and speak directly to our present reality. Perhaps they might even be a little disturbing if we think about them more profoundly. I am referring to the new commandment.

As a young child I used to sing a Catholic hymn based on this commandment. Maybe some of you might know it. “They will know we are Christians by our Love, by our Love.…” Now that I am older, I have my fair share of experience with disagreeable characters, I find it a little harder to sing this hymn with the same enthusiasm. However, this commandment goes beyond just being patient with people who are not quite likable. Jesus is commanding us to love them like He did. The fact that He waited all this time to drop this bomb on his disciples was because He wanted to show them and us how to love exactly. It is not open to our personal interpretation of love. His Life is a living example of how this Love should be manifested. This is really the essence of Jesus’ ministry. He wanted to clear all misconceptions about God and Love. He came to reveal the true nature of God.
In the Old Testament, the people had an idea of a tribal God. They thought God’s actions were only favorable to one nation of tribes even though God had sent prophets now and again to remind them that He was a God who acted in all nations. However, they could not erase from their minds an image of God who was a warrior fighting political battles like a regular King. Their idea of God could be appeased with sacrifices and violence towards whomever they thought was against Him. Jesus taught us throughout His ministry that He came to fulfill the Law. The objective of the Law is to reveal the essence of God to all people. This new commandment is the consummation of this ministry. His passion operated on the basis of this New Commandment. It showed us how to face a world invested in dividing each other through hatred. Jesus, through His life and death, revealed to us a superior path. He commands us to do the same.

I recently read a disturbing comment by a so-called prominent Christian leader stating that this commandment was restricted to fellow Christians. In other words, we should only love fellow Christians as Jesus loved us. This interpretation relieves them from expressing love and compassion to anyone whom they deem as unworthy of God’s love. This is the spirituality of the Pharisee which Jesus told us time and again that we should supersede. Jesus is the standard. He loved people who were not Jews in His time. He attended to Syrophoenician woman and the Roman centurion. He welcomed people who were considered as outcasts. He even transformed a Samaritan woman with a dubious background into a prophetess to her community. The list goes on and on. Jesus, at the Last Supper, broke bread with Judas whom He knew was going to betray Him to a certain death. Judas might not have thought that Jesus was going to die an horrific death but despite this, betrayal is still an hurtful and hateful thing to do especially to someone who loved him unconditionally. Jesus did not refrain from washing Judas’ feet. There are some Christians who argue that Jesus did not wash Judas’ feet. I don’t understand why this is an issue. Jesus’ washing of Judas’ feet is coherent with our Lord’s lifestyle. He loved His enemies. St John Chrysostom gave an insightful interpretation of this action. He said that perhaps Jesus was hoping that this act of Love might convert Judas’ heart. Every act of Love is an act of evangelism. It is also an act to persuade our souls to look beyond our lives to discover true divine Love.

The thing about this Commandment is that is impossible for us to love one another like Jesus loves us. The bar is too high. In our ministry, we have some undesirable characters who also like our companionship in the streets. I cannot say that the feeling is mutual. To the best our abilities, we tolerate them. However, Jesus is not encouraging us to tolerate the disagreeable personalities of Life. He wants us to love them like He loves us. Jesus served without prejudice. He healed and restored the lives of many. However, only a handful returned to express their gratitude. The rest just left and maybe even forgot about our Lord. Jesus loved them nevertheless. We, as mere mortals, like to receive feedback. We want to love people who appreciate our efforts. Jesus loved unconditionally. Loving someone is difficult even when we like the people. People are complex and not always easy to love. The Holy Week liturgy reveals this to us. People can shift their opinions from enthusiastic love to complete hatred. This is not just something we read in the gospel passion. This reality is experienced in everyday life. I have known people who once upon a time loved working with the homeless youth. Their enthusiasm made us feel a little ashamed because we did not have their same zealous love. Then, we met these same people again and they seemed to have changed their position. They say hateful and hurtful comments about the homeless in general. People are complex which makes them even harder to love them like Jesus did. To make matters worse, Jesus said this Love would be the sign proving we are His disciples. In other words, we are not followers of Christ unless we love one another like He loved us. Neither our baptism certificate nor regular church attendance is going to prove that we are His disciples; only the presence of unconditional love in our lives.

On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?” Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.” Matthew 7:22-23

Jesus, then, goes on to say;

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. Matthew 7:24

As wise people, we need to know how to construct our lives on this new commandment.

This new commandment is not something that came out of nowhere. It is the summary of our Lord’s ministry. He came to live among us to show us how to live our lives in this world. The unconditional Love that He freely bestowed upon us is not only for us but for the world. He wants to continue to testify to the world the everlasting presence of Unconditional Love in our midst. However, Love is not something which can be expressed in words. It cannot be reduced to doctrines nor some fanciful words of an eloquent preacher. Love is an action. It is something that we have to live out. Unconditional Love is not merely tolerating certain difficult people. Jesus did not tolerate people. He loved them with concrete actions. His Love was always active and never a passive nod to the idea of unconditional Love. However, all this still does not answer the question whether it is even possible for us to love like He did. The short answer is that it is humanly impossible. We need His divine presence to guide and empower us to love. It is difficult even to love those whom we find agreeable and pleasant. People are complex and Jesus loved them in all their complexities. The proof of this is one of His final words on the Cross,

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. Luke 23:34

It seemed to me that they knew exactly what they were doing. However, Jesus was able to see beyond the obvious and many times we just see what’s in front of us. We need Jesus to guide and show us how to love one another like He loves us. The Eucharist reveals to us how. We need to constantly feed on His Life. His Life and words are powerful and living. They are not mere concepts but they are living words moving our souls to spring forth living waters. We need to be in the company of people who have been touched by the power of God’s unconditional Love and are willing and open to share this powerful Love with their lives and actions. We need to listen and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit who wants to use us to become instruments of Unconditional Love. The Lord’s Table is the symbolic place where all these necessary elements are united.

The Lord’s Table is where we come together and listen to the living words of our Lord and allow these words to transform our hearts so that we can live out this new commandment. It is humanly impossible for us to follow this commandment. However, we have Jesus to guide us. He will always be there waiting for us and all we need to do is to be willing and open to His unconditional Love.