IN THE Bible, the book of Exodus explains about the feast of Passover. It is equally important in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. It is the most important festival of the Jews even today. It reminds them of how their ancestors had been released from the slavery of Pharaoh in Egypt.

 

God asked each family of Israelites through Moses to kill a lamb and smear the doorposts of its house with the blood of that lamb. While god stroke down the first born of all Egyptians, he passed over the houses of Israelites seeing blood on their doorsteps. Thus, the Lord’s Passover is a Passover that spares, protects, saves and vivifies those who are loyal to god. That is the great happening, which remains a basic memory for the Israelite nation. In his Passover, god released them from the bondage in Egypt.

 

During this feast, each family killed a lamb and smeared the doorposts of its house with the blood of that lamb and roasted the meat of the lamb and ate together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The father of the family would explain to the children what that meal and feast meant

 

The Last Supper of Jesus, before the Jews were crucifying Jesus with these disciples, was also their celebration of the feast of the Passover. The Christian community ought to celebrate the Eucharist as the Jews were instructed to celebrate the Passover meal as the remembrance of their liberation from the Egypt.

 

The washing of the feet is also celebrated on this auspicious day. There is a story behind the custom of washing of the feet. According to Jewish custom, one can enter in the house, especially in the dinning room, only after washing one’s feet. The reason is that the roads of Palestine were full of dust and dirt. So they used to keep water in front of their houses in order to enter after washing.

 

Rich people employed slaves or servants to wash the feet of the guests. But in poor people’s houses, there were no servants to wash the feet of the guests. These poor people were not ready to help each other to wash the feet because nobody liked to come down to the level of a servant.

 

Seeing this, Jesus decided to wash their feet himself. So he took a basin, girded himself with a towel and started washing the feet of his disciples. This is an example given by Jesus - a man full of humility, a man stripped himself of pride and selfishness.

 

In every sphere of life – be it religious, political or social – one can see a desire for prominence and unwillingness to take a subordinate place. People are craving for wealth, power and position. This day, in fact, reminds every human being that how god became one of us, and went even to the extreme of washing the feet of the apostles showing the true meaning of love and humility.