Daily Readings - Thu Apr 01 2021
Exodus
1The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,2"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.3Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.4And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,6and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.7"Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.8They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.11In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover.12For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.13The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.14"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.
1 Corinthians
23For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,24and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."25In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
John
1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.2During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,4rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?"7Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand."8Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."9Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"10Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you."11For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."12When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you?13You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.14If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.15For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
Sermon
Today’s readings guide us through a journey of love, service, and remembrance, weaving together the Old Testament, the institution of the Eucharist, and Jesus’s humble act of washing His disciples’ feet. The first reading from Exodus recounts the Passover, a pivotal moment in Israel’s history where God spared the firstborn of the Israelites, marking their liberation from slavery. This act of divine mercy and deliverance is a powerful reminder of God’s covenant with His people, setting the stage for the deeper covenant to come through Jesus Christ.
In the second reading, St. Paul explains the Eucharist, instituted by Jesus on the night before His Passion, as a sacrament that unites us to Christ and to each other. Just as the Passover meal was a sign of God’s presence and salvation for the Israelites, the Eucharist is the new Passover, where Christ’s body and blood are offered for our redemption. This sacred meal calls us to remember Christ’s sacrifice and to live as a community bound together by His love.
In the Gospel, Jesus takes this a step further by not only giving us the Eucharist but also modeling humility and service. By washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus teaches us that love is not just a feeling but an action. He, the Lord and Teacher, stoops to serve, showing us that true greatness lies in self-giving love. This act of humility is not just a gesture; it’s a way of life. Jesus calls us to follow His example, to serve one another, and to love as He has loved us.
These readings invite us to reflect on how we live out our faith in daily life. Just as the Israelites remembered the Passover to stay connected to God’s mercy, we are called to remember Christ’s sacrifice through the Eucharist and to live as people transformed by His love. Let us ask ourselves: How am I serving others? Am I living with the humility and love that Jesus modeled? May we allow these readings to inspire us to be people of gratitude, compassion, and self-giving love, remembering that the heart of our faith is not just in what we believe, but in how we live it out.