Maundy Thursday
April 02, 2026 – 7:00 PM
Saint Cecilia Catholic Community
Deacon Sharon Kay Talley
Exodus 12:1-18;11-14 | Psalm 116:112-13;15;16bc-18
Corinthians 11:23-26| John 13:1-15
+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Tonight, we enter into a sacred remembering, not just something that happened long ago, but of something that is still happening today, still alive, still given. On this Holy Thursday, we gather at the Table of the Lord, where love takes form in the simplest and most profound of ways: bread broken, a cup shared, feet washed.
In the Gospel from John, we have just heard that Jesus does something totally unexpected. Instead of sitting on a throne, He kneels. Instead of demanding loyalty, He serves others. He washes the feet of His disciples—dusty, tired, human feet. And by doing so, He reveals the very heart of God.
This is not just an act of humility: it is a revelation. God is not distant. God is not removed. And God kneels.
Peter, as you might have guessed, resists, just as many other people resist. “You will never wash my feet!” It is difficult for us to accept a God who serves us, who lowers Himself, who loves us in such a vulnerable, personal way. We are often more comfortable giving than receiving; more comfortable giving love than being loved freely.
But Jesus insists: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Tonight, we are invited first not only to do, but to receive as well. To allow Jesus to wash us—it cleanses the places we hide, the wounds we carry,, the sins we regret, the burdens we cannot overcome. Before we can follow Jesus, we must let Him love us.
And then, only then, He says, “As I have done for you, you should also do.”
This is the pattern of Christianity: receive, then give; be loved, then love; be served, then serve.
We also remember tonight the gift of the Holy Eucharist—the very Body and Blood of Christ given to us. On this night, Jesus takes bread and says, “This is my body.” He takes the cup and says, “This is my blood.” He gives us not just something—but Himself.
And this is the love that sustains us. A love that feeds us when we are empty. A love that strengthens us when we are weak. A love that remains when everything else fades away.
But this gift is not meant to stay here within these walls. Just as the disciples were sent out, so are we. Every Eucharist ends with a mission: for us to become what we receive.
If we receive the Body of Christ, then we are called to b e the Body of Christ—broken for others, poured out in love.
So the question for each of us tonight is simple: whose feet will we wash?
Whom are we being called to serve, not in a grand, dramatic way, but in quiet, hidden acts of love. In patience with a difficult person? in forgiveness that costs us something?
In attention to someone who feels invisible? In care for those who suffer?
The world today often tells us that greatness comes from power, success, and recognition. But tonight, Jesus shows us a different way. Greatness is found in humility, in love that bends low.
As we continue this sacred liturgy, as we approach the altar, as we witness the washing of feet, let us open our hearts and let Jesus serve us, let Jesus feed us, and then let Jesus send us on our mission to bring His love to everyone in the world!
Amen