The text says, AHis hour had come.@ Now Jesus certainly knew where He came from and where He is going and He certainly knows the intensity of this moment, this last hour which John tells us is the hour that He will pass out of this world to the Father. And it=s this hour that you and I are joining Jesus to celebrate. And so we need to open our hearts and we need to deepen our faith in this great mystery. It happened in this hour that the body and blood of the eternal Word made flesh would become and dwell among us under the species of bread and wine at the Last Supper. This hour, of course, was prophesied in the sense that the Jewish community was reminded that they would be delivered from the slavery of the Egyptians by the blood of the Lamb. And so in Exodus we read that this was a memorial day, a festive of the Lord that was to be kept generation after generation the ordinance of the Lord forever. And so Jesus and the apostles gathered in the upper room to celebrate the liberation of the Jewish community by the blood of the Lamb. And in the midst of that ceremony Jesus took bread, gave thanks, saying, Athis is my Body given up for you, do this in memory of me. @ And later he took the cup saying, A this is the cup of covenant in my blood, do this as often as you drink from it in remembrance of me.@ So this is the hour, this is the time of Jesus Christ, The Lamb of God. This is the time of liberation of the people of God. This is the time of the new covenant, this is the hour of Jesus passing from this world to the Father. And this hour is ongoing, never ending, incessant. Because of what Paul tells us, Aas often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.@ And so this hour is available and is rich in the mystery of God=s mercy so much so that Jesus says, or the text says, Athat Jesus having loved his own, loved them till the end.@ And so this hour is renewed again, and again, and again and realized. Anyone who is in Christ passes from this world to the Father or anytime the faith community gathers to eat this bread and drink this cup. So the Eucharist is in fact a sacrament of the departing of this world to the Father. It is such a rich mystery because what was Jesus doing in the first place? He came precisely to bring the world back to the Father in an acceptable form. And so in this mystery he made it possible for us to bring our world back to the Father in an acceptable form. And secondly, it=s Jesus who is the high priest and therefore this sacrifice is the acceptable sacrifice to the Father and so the psalm verses that we pray we can actualize, make happen. What shall I render to the Lord for all the good things He has done for me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord and I will be heard because this is the hour of the Lord, of His going back to the Father and being totally received. And the so to come to gather around this altar to celebrate this rich and profound mystery does have some requirements. We see them in the rest of John=s gospel. Jesus comes to Peter and He wants to wash his feet and Peter says, ANo way are you going to wash my feet.@ And Jesus says, Aunless I wash your feet you shall have no part with me. This translation says Ainheritance@. We must come to be purified. We must listen to Jesus and allow Him to purify us so that we may acknowledge our unworthiness for so great a gift and receive this transforming power of His love and life. We must do something else. Jesus after going through the apostles and washing their feet says, Awhat I have done, you are to do.@ To wash the feet of others is to be willing to be of service. It=s the willingness to reach out and love your neighbor and your enemy and that=s where the power is to transform our world. It=s love that transforms the world. And so in this Eucharist we are reminded that even though we are empowered to bring the world back to the Father in an acceptable form, we can only do it if we walk humbly and allow the Lord to purify us and in ourselves follow Jesus and be willing to wash the feet of each other. And so we gather precisely to celebrate this hour. This tremendous hour. That not only are we so tremendously blessed but we can in truth turn to God and say with the psalmist Awhat can I offer the Lord for the many blessings, the bounty He has shown me? I will take the cup of salvation and praise the Lord.@

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