It brings to the present reality their salvation by God from the bonds of slavery. The account in Exodus prescribes the sacrifice of a lamb, the eating of its body and the smearing of its blood on the doorposts and lintels of each Jewish household. God promised to save those who lived in a house protected by the blood of the lamb.

The fore-shadowing of Christ's sacrifice and the Communion he commanded is clear. I think the disciples would have seen it, even if they didn't quite put it together until later. This is my Body. This is my Blood.

From the ordinary ritual of the Passover meal comes the new meal of the Body and Blood of Christ. We eat the Body and we smear the blood on the doorposts of our heart. The judgment of God passes over the hearts protected by the Blood of the Lamb.

But, there is even more in the events of this night. The three synoptic Gospels record the Passover dinner. John mentions the Passover meal, but tells of another ritual performed by Jesus and thus completely turned on its head.

Jesus took on the job of a servant. Not some highly trusted major domo, but the lowly wash boy who scrubs the muck and manure off the feet of his master's guests. Of course, the disciples didn't get it, at least not Peter. This was going too far. This was a horribly demeaning act. How could the One called Christ stoop so low.

"For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you."

What did Jesus mean by that? Usually we answer that we are to be servants to each other, being humble even in the midst of great authority.

I think there is something else here. All four Gospels make it clear that there were twelve disciples at dinner with Jesus that night. Judas was there. Judas was at the table when the bread, the Body of the Pascal Lamb, was passed for all of them to eat. He was there when the Blood of the Lamb was drunk. He was there as Jesus poured water of the encrusted feet of his friends.

Jesus knew Judas had betrayed him. I don't believe for a minute that Jesus had directed Judas to betray him. Judas, out of his free will, set Jesus up to be captured. And Jesus knew this.

So, as the bread and wine was passed around the table, it was eaten and drunk by James and John who wanted to be the head of the band, Peter who would deny Jesus, and by Judas.

The cleansing Body and Blood of Christ had been consumed by the very one who would enable the Pascal Lamb's own slaughter.

And then, Jesus stripped as a slave, holds the feet of his betrayer in his hands and pours water over them. He rubbed off the dirt and the filth on Judas' outside, but was there anything touched or cleansed inside the heart of this coward and traitor?

Betrayal and forgiveness. We have all felt betrayed at one time or another, I'm sure. For some, the betrayal is huge and life altering. For others, the painful, yet relatively minor betrayals still bite deep into our souls and our psyches.

Could we hold the feet of those who have hurt us and pour the cleansing water of forgiveness over them? Could we allow someone who had hurt us to do the same? Jesus washed Judas' feet. On the next day, he would look down from the cross and forgive those who had nailed him to that tortuous tree.

If Jesus could do that, why can't we look into the eyes of those with whom we are estranged and give and receive forgiveness. Is it pride? I don't know if it is or not. I know there are people to whom I would not want to serve the Body and Blood of Christ in my vocation as a Priest. It's my problem, not theirs, ultimately. But, some things are more difficult to forgive than others.

Yet, the one who washed the feet of his betrayer and gave his Body and Blood that even the worst sinners could be made whole, commands us to swallow our pride, repent of our anger and hatred and forgive.

I believe I remember Fr. Philbert Kalisa, from Rwanda tell a story of widows of those killed in the genocide of 1994, going into the prisons and washing the feet of those who had murdered their husbands and children.

I remember when Pope John Paul the second went to prison and forgave the man who had shot him.

Amazing stories of forgiveness.

The amazing thing about the Eucharist is that we are protected by the blood of the lamb against the justice of God. Which means that God will not treat us according to our sins, rather by the Love and Mercy in our hearts.

God pours water over our feet forgiving us of even the worst sins. It is now our responsibility to do to others as he has done to us.