The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus “came to serve, not to be served.” Nothing exemplifies this better than the washing of the feet that we both hear in the Gospel reading today and we celebrate during the Holy Thursday Mass. Jesus says, “You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow…”
This great act of humility was not just a nice gesture that Jesus did. Rather, it serves as an example to us of how we are to serve and how we are to love. It matters not if we are lofty or lowly, but simply that we follow the model of Jesus.
Holy Thursday begins the great Paschal Triduum when we commemorate Jesus’s death and resurrection. It is through these acts that Jesus restores us to union with God and offers us the forgiveness of our sins. Just as Jesus gave us an example and model to follow through the washing of the feet, so too does he give us an example through his passion and resurrection. As followers of Jesus, we too can be instruments of unity and instruments of forgiveness. We can reach out to those who are separated and lost, or those who are hurting and broken to help them know the love and the mercy of Jesus.