Holy Thursday

By Jack Chui

This will be my first personal reflection for a long while. I've been busy with work, study, sport, ministry and relationship that there just doesn't seem to be enough time for me to even rest. Its not so bad because God is giving me enough grace to hang in there. Today was no exception of a busy day with a short working week adding more pressure to meet deadlines but at least a long weekend to look forward to. In the near madness to do many things, I managed to find 3 things to share about here:

Everyone's left work early today being the last day before a 'super' long weekend. I was stuck at work, looking to spend more time at work to make sure the madness isn't worse the following short working week... However, Holy Thursday mass is a service I always attend unless I'm flying back to Sydney that evening and mass for me is like a (forced) scheduled timeout from the hectic life to spend some time with God. I think when it seems even more busy, the more I think I seem to get out of mass because I enter a zone where for one hour or more I can leave my other worries aside.

1. Father Victor opened the mass with a wonderful quote to share. He said, quoting from someone I forgot, that "Sometimes, to be able to see more, we have to close our eyes, and open our hearts". I felt more drawn to those words than I normally do because I seem not to 'feel' very much. The benefit is emotional stability but could be at a loss of feeling joy and love... It is something I should explore more.

2. I helped the service by reading the first reading as part of the monthly schedule of lectors. The reading was from Exodus recounting how God instructed the Jews in Egyptian slavery to perform the Passover (Exodus 12:1-8,11-14). When reading to prepare I was drawn to the parts about the lamb and remembering that the 1st and Gospel reading are linked, sought to find that link. Took me a while to sit and think about it, but I can only come up with the idea that the Eucharist which Christ instituted is the new Passover. The lamb's flesh and blood was used in the Passover to save the Jews, and Jesus is the new lamb in the form of bread and wine.

3. As the only attendee from STAY at St. Augustine's, we needed a volunteer to represent us at the washing of the feet. I had never volunteered for this before, shying away from such a front of stage act. Not feeling forced, I came openly knowing that this was a special moment. I had heard priest talk about the act of washing the disciples feet but being close to and in the action brought it to life for me. Father Victor had to kneel to get his hands close to the floor where my feet were. Its a dirty job to wash someones foot and dry it up again. No one has ever washed my foot like tonight and few of us if any would do it in this age. To drive it home, Father Victor bent down and kissed the feet he cleaned after he dried it and looked up to us. I don't think many of us would do that let alone wash someone elses feet. It was very humbling to be a recipient of such an act and to know that Jesus would do this for us, gives me strength to do the same (serve) for others.