Do this in rememberance of me

Anyone who has ever lost a loved one to death knows how much we treasure our last moments with that person. Whether it's at their bedside as they slip into unconsciousness or at home before they leave for the hospital, we remember the last words they may have spoken to us or a gift they may have given to us. And, for the person who is dying, having the opportunity to see and speak with loved ones for a last time is an important moment. Every person hopes to leave a legacy - both material and spiritual - to their families and loved ones.

It's natural, then, that Jesus wanted His last Passover meal with the men he had chosen to carry out His mission to be special. He wanted it to be the way He would be remembered. "Do this in memory of me."

Remembering is an important concept in the Bible. Depending on which translation one uses, the word "remember" appears about 451 times in Scripture. God commands us to remember the mighty works which led to our salvation. The first reading, for instance, spells out how the Jewish people were to commemorate how God liberated them from slavery in Egypt. The bitter herbs were meant to remind them of the bitterness of slavery and the hard, unleavened bread was meant to remind them of the bricks they were forced to make for Pharaoh.

At the Last Supper, Jesus used the traditional Passover meal to show His disciples - to show us - that the Passover, the liberation, had found its fulfillment in Him, in the mystery of His death and resurrection. So Saint Paul tells us in the second reading that whenever we remember what Jesus did - whenever we eat the bread of His Body and drink the cup of His Blood - we proclaim His death until He comes again. In the Eucharist, then, we celebrate our Passover. We remember and proclaim that we have been freed from the cruelest of slaveries - the slavery of sin. And, we have been liberated from the cruelest of fates - everlasting death.

So, then, how does Jesus want to be remembered? He wants to be remembered as one who gave of Himself until He had nothing left to give. God spared nothing in giving His Son to us. He poured Jesus out to the last breath of His life, to the last drop of His blood and to the last ounce of His strength. The washing of the feet which we celebrate every year on this day gives witness to this. Jesus gets on His knees to wash the apostles' feet so they would know that He came not to be served, but to serve. He wanted them to know that they must do the same, and that we must do the same.

So, when we gather here to celebrate the Eucharist, we remember who Jesus is and the way he lived so that we can commit ourselves to living as He did. And, how did he live? He lived the same way that He died - by giving of Himself until He had nothing left. And, who did He give Himself to? He gave Himself to us and He continues to give of Himself to anyone who approaches Him with faith and with the conviction to live - and maybe even to die - as He did.

If God can give us so much in the person of Jesus, then how can we turn our back on those in need whether they are a friend or an enemy? If Jesus, our teacher and our master, has washed our feet, how can we then turn up our nose at the poor who stretch out their hands to us?

We gather here today to remember how Jesus lived. We remember how Jesus died. We proclaim His death with the confidence that He will come again. And, we live our lives so that, when He does come again, He will find us living - and perhaps even dying - as He did: by giving of ourselves until there is nothing left to give.