St. John's Gospel

The Farewell Discourses (13:31-38)

Posted on June 19th 2011 in St. John's Gospel

On the departure of Judas into the night, Jesus explains that ‘now the Son of Man has been glorified’. This is not simply the result of Judas’ betrayal but the beginning of the completion of the Passion, which has already been foreseen in the Washing of the Feet. The washing of the soiled feet of humanity, like the Last Supper, is a celebration in anticipation of the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The command to repeat the foot washing mirrors the command to ‘Do this in memory of me’. The ‘glorification’ of Jesus expresses the unity of the death, Resurrection, Ascension, and descent of the Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Paschal Mystery.

Jesus’ statement (vv31-2) moves from the aorist tense, explaining the definitive act of God, to the future tense, what is about to be achieved within human history. The glorification has not yet been completed in human time but, with His imminent arrest, the time left is short. This emphasis on the shortness of time sets the context for Jesus’ final discourse that covers chapters, 14, 15, 16 and 17 of St John’s Gospel. These are read out in Church during the Easter season.

The introductory address, ‘my little children’, is frequently used by St John in his letters to the Christian communities, and so looks to the future audience alongside the original audience of the apostles. The apostles will not be able to depart with Jesus yet. This first departure must be undertaken by Jesus alone, a departure that includes His death, resurrection and ascension. The implication of Jesus’ statement is that the apostles have as little faith as ‘the Jews’, who had previously demanded to know why they could not follow Jesus immediately. (8:21).

The apostles, who are to stay behind in the world, are to establish a new community, the Church, founded on the quality of love that Jesus expressed in the washing of the feet, a love marked by mutual service. The example given by Jesus Christ was not inward looking alone; He gave a morsel of the bread to Judas, and so the nascent community would always be outward looking, even to potential enemies. This mutual service that the disciples demonstrate is not unknown in either the Jewish or pagan world, but Jesus instructs the apostles to show that their mutual love reflects that between Him and the Father.(To be continued)

The washing of the Feet (c13:1-20) Part 2

Posted on June 12th 2011 in St. John's Gospel

The washing of the disciples’ feet is not simply an extraordinary at of humility but about becoming part of Jesus’ mission to love. This rite of purification emphasises the holiness of God, and thus purity is a gift from God. In the words of Pope Benedict, from his recent second volume on Jesus of Nazareth, the effect of faith is never a form of ‘moral rearmament’ of existing moral values. 
The foot washing may therefore be seen as both an intimation of the rite of baptism and the rite of ordination, of becoming part of Jesus’ mission of love and service. Judas has declined to accept the gift and become part of this mission, so he remains unclean. Purity of heart is always a gift from God but it requires a human response for this gift to become effective.

The disciple has to take this further and imitate the actions of Jesus. The word used (ὑπόδειγμα) by Jesus is literally ‘handed over’ (v15) not simply ‘given, and the first sense has connotations of the death of Jesus on the Cross. This ‘handing over’ of His example may also be described as being baptised into His mission, as the neophyte is ‘buried’ in the water of Christ’s death in order to rise to new life for others.

The role of Judas has always looked inexplicable, and defies all human logic to explain. Was his whole life predetermined to betray Jesus; did he realise that he was betraying the Son of God? Put this way the answer must be no. He chose to betray Jesus for reasons that remain obscure. The Evangelists both mention Judas’ guardianship of the common fund and that he was a thief, but more as circumstantial evidence rather than the cause of his act of betrayal. St John records Jesus saying that His betrayal comes from within His circle but that this act will fulfil the Scriptures. The mission of Jesus is to save the world, and that must of necessity include His opponents who have the opportunity for repentance.  Therefore the mission of the Church is not the usual ‘them and us’ situation but has, in some way, to embrace those opposed to her mission.

The washing of the Feet (c13:1-17) Part 1

Posted on June 5th 2011 in St. John's Gospel

The forthcoming Passover that Jesus is about to celebrate is loaded with significance from the beginning. This is his hour, and contrasts with Jesus’ statement to His mother at the Marriage Feast of Cana, that his hour had not yet come’. (2:4) The first half of the Gospel account, known as the Book of Signs, has now come to a provisional conclusion. The first part has recounted Jesus’ systematic replacement of the Feasts of the Jews with Himself; ‘I am the bread if life’, ‘I am the true light’, ‘I am the living water’. The gradual replacement of the Jewish Feasts now reaches a climax as the ‘hour’ has begun which will culminate in Jesus’ death and Resurrection, and the definitive replacement of the Jewish system of worship.

A remarkable feature of this account is the purposeful way Jesus sets aside time for educating His Apostles for the mission ahead. Despite the impending violence, He shows the depths of His love. The believer who already knows the aftermath of that fateful evening and so the Gospel account is given added poignancy to His words and actions. The protagonists in the Passion are part of the cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil. The designs of Satan are advanced through the betrayal of Judas, yet Jesus takes the initiative with a demonstration of the depths of His love by washing the feet of His disciples. This act of a servant is the human counterpoint to His mission as the Son, making known the nature of the Father. This action brings to life a statement from the Prologue: ‘we saw His glory that is His as the only Son of the Father’. (1:14). The action of taking off his outer garment points symbolically to Jesus divesting himself of His divinity, to become a slave so that the apostles might sit with Him at His table. This is opposite to the action of Adam and Eve who wished to become like God, by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The washing of the apostles’ feet is misunderstood by Peter who fails to understand Jesus’ reasons. Jesus accepts this ignorance because it is a knowledge that becomes only possible after the Crucifixion and Resurrection. The glory of Jesus will always be revealed in the context of weakness and service, and so requires the eyes of faith to grasp. Peter is stubborn in his refusal, because he has failed to see that this action is more than symbolic, and all that this would entail of his master doing such a task. (To be continued)