The key to understanding the passion in
John is the farewell discourse that precedes Jesus’ passion account.[i] Today, we hear its
opening. Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and then Judas went out into the
night. After that, Jesus was alone with those whom he called his friends
because he revealed to them all he heard from his Father. He spoke to them as
Jacob spoke to his sons, preparing them for the future.
Two words dominate the passage. The
first is glory. In the Old Testament,
humans could not see God, but they could glimpse his glory. People saw it in
the desert. Ezekiel saw it in his visions. John’s community saw it in Christ.
Paradoxically, its clearest manifestation for John occurred in the passion. Here,
the Father answered Jesus’ prayer – “glorify your son.” And we understand the passion
as the climax of the revelation of God’s glory in Christ.
The second word is love. If the first half of John’s Gospel is about the life brought
by the good shepherd so that we may have it more abundantly, the second half is
about the love of God. He loved his own to the end; and the end was
accomplished with his death on the cross. A commandment accompanied this love.
Jesus did not command his disciples to love him, but to love one another. Jesus
began the passion by washing their feet to symbolize his coming death on their
behalf. They were to wash each other’s feet as a symbol of their mutual love, a
love whose only limit is death. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s
life for one’s friends.
This commandment was the subject of a
beatitude: Now that you know this,
happiness will be yours if you behave accordingly. Here, Jesus addressed
not only his disciples, but also all ‘children of God’ who believe in his name.
May you realize that you are a child of
God; and may God bless you in your prayer as we close Lent and enter the
Triduum. May the Holy Spirit make you a believer in the power of God’s love
poured forth from the Cross into your heart. In Jesus’ Name, we pray.
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