Homily On John 13:1-15 :Holy Thursday – “He Loved Them to the End”

 

 Holy Thursday – “He Loved Them to the End”, John 13:1-15, Eucharist and Priesthood (Thursday the 17th of April 2025)

Praise be to Jesus Christ

Once, in a small village in the northern part of India, something unforgettable happened. A poor mother with a wounded leg was resting inside her little mud house. Her child was playing outside. Suddenly, she heard a terrible cry. When she looked out, she saw a wild animal had taken her baby and was running into the nearby forest.

Without thinking about her pain or wounds, she got up and ran. Her legs were bleeding, but her heart was stronger than her pain. She ran and ran until she reached the animal. With bare hands, she fought it off—shouting, crying, doing everything she could. Somehow, she saved her child. Her body was full of wounds. She had to stay many days in the hospital. But when someone asked her why she risked her life, she simply said, “That’s my child. I would die for him.”

That is love: real love, a love that goes to the very end, a love that does not count cost or comfort. And that is what we see tonight in Jesus. Saint John tells us, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
To the very end, not halfway, not only when it was easy, not when people were faithful, but even when they betrayed, denied, and ran away. He loved them still.

And this love did not come in grand speeches or dramatic gestures. It came in silence. It came in kneeling. That night, the Master became a servant. The hands that made the stars took a towel and washed dusty, dirty and sinful feet. In those days, only the lowest servant did that. Yet Jesus knelt. His hands touched the dirt, and His heart touched the hearts of millions. And till today, it challenges us all. That is the beauty of love. That is the power of love, a love that bows down.

Then, Jesus gave us something even deeper. He gave His heart, hidden in the bread. “This is my body, given for you.” That moment was not just a ritual. It was surrender. He was saying, “I give myself completely. I hold nothing back.” Just like that mother who forgot her pain to save her child, Jesus forgot Himself, for us.

But He didn’t stop there. He knew the Cross was coming. He knew He would soon return to the Father. And yet… His love could not leave us alone. That night, in the Upper Room, He found a way to stay, Forever, because that is who He is: Emmanuel, God with us.

He became the Eucharist, so that even when we cannot see Him with our yes, we can still receive Him and experience Him. Every time we come to the altar, He is awaiting there, His love is there, His presence is real. It is Jesus, loving us to the very end and beyond.

And then He gave us another gift, one so profound and eternal: the priesthood. That night, looking into the eyes of the Twelve men who were weak, confused, even proud, He said, ‘Do this in memory of me.’ Those were not just ritual words; they were life-changing. In that sacred moment, Jesus handed over His own heart to fragile, imperfect men. He was saying, ‘Take my love. Make it present. Be my hands, my voice, my feet—for every generation to come.’ That’s what the priesthood is: a divine mystery and a gift. Through it, a priest is not just a servant, he is called to become another Christ, to stand in His place, to bring His presence into the world, especially through the Eucharist. What a powerful and humbling vocation.

He gave us the Eucharist and the priesthood, because He wanted to stay with us until the end of the world. That is how far love goes. Not just to the Cross, but into every tabernacle.
Not just to one generation, but to every heart that seeks Him.

The Eucharist is love that waits.
The Priesthood is love that serves.
Both are signs that Jesus meant it when He said: “I am with you always.”

But this message is not only for priests. It is for everyone who is called to love. Many marriages today struggle, not because love has failed, but because love was not brought to the end. So many give up too soon , when things get tough, when the feelings fade, when life gets ordinary.

But real love, as we see tonight, is not built on feelings. It is built on sacrifice. On choosing again and again to give oneself.

A husband and wife are also called to say, like Jesus, “This is my body, given for you.”
In the kitchen. At the bedside. Amidst misunderstandings. at the time of  sickness. In poverty. In weariness etc., Love to the end , that is the Christian call.

A newspaper recently shared that more than seventy elderly parents were left in hospitals by their own children. These were parents who once gave everything — their strength, their sleep, their sacrifices. And now, they were forgotten.
Love had stopped too early.

But tonight, Jesus teaches us another way.
Love must go all the way.
That is, to the end.

And here’s the most heart-piercing part: Jesus even washed the feet of Judas. He knew he would be betrayed. He knew that kiss was coming. And still ,He served him, He loved him till the end. This is the mystery of our faith: Love that does not stop even at betrayal.

So let this Holy Thursday not be just a memory. Let it be a mirror. When we look at the Eucharist, let us see a God who still gives Himself. When we look at the priest, let us see a heart that still kneels. And when we look into our own hearts, may we find the courage to love, not halfway, not with conditions, but to the very end.

Lord Jesus, teach us to love like You , to the very end. Amen

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God Bless…