B’rit Chadasha is characterized with the blood of Christ, shed from the Cross for our salvation. Mizvah Chadasha was symbolically demonstrated by Jesus' servant leadership example of washing disciples' feet to love one another as he has loved us.
The consummation of Paschal Mystery to bring Pentecost has affected the transformation of the Last Supper communion of the disciples into our Apostolic Church.
On the eve of his death on the Cross, Lord Jesus Christ gave us B’rit Chadasha and Mizavah Chadasha in commemorating Passover at Last Supper with his twelve disciples in Senacle. B’rit Chadasha (Matthew 26:28//Mark 14:24//Luke 22:20;1 Corinthians 11:25) was established with us through the disciples, as Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. He offered the cup of Passover Seder as his blood, recalling the salvific effect of Passover lamb’s blood (Exodus 12:1-14), upon sharing matzah with them, as his body (Matthew 26:26//Mark 14:22//Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24) . Thus, the Passover Seder table fellowship in establishing the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is a reminder of B’rit Chadasha, reflecting Jesus’ Living Bread of Life Discourse in John 6:53-58.
During Last Supper, in addition to B’rit Chadasha in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus also offered us Mizavah Chadasha to love one another as he has love us (John 13:34),
upon washing his disciples’ feet. For this reason, Holy Thursday has been known
as Maundy Thursday, reflecting the Latin translation of Mizavah Chadasha, Mandatum
Novum. In fact, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-20) for us to
understand his Mizavah Chadasha of agape. Note the parallel between Jesus
commanding the disciples to wash each other’s feet as he has washed theirs
(John 13:14) and commanding them to love one another as he has loved them (John
13:34). Indeed, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet in order to prepare them for
his Mizavah Chadasha of agape. It is to important to understand
that observing Mizavah Chadasha, as
symbolically represented by washing feet of one another, is to establish the
communion with Christ (John 13:16, 15:20).
As a matter of fact, with the two new pillars: B’rit Chadasha and Mizavah Chadasha, what Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) brings us in
is the table fellowship communion of Last Supper. This table communion of the
disciples with Jesus is the prototype of the Ekklesia, in which the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist has been
celebrated at Mass in anamnesis. On the night before his death, Jesus called his
disciples into the communion not just to have his last Passover Seder supper
with them but to prepare them to become the Ekklesia
on Pentecost with B’rit Chadasha in
the Holy Eucharist and Mizavah Chadasha
through washing disciples’ feet. In order to consummate God’s plan to establish
His Ekklesia on earth, Jesus had to suffer,
die and rise, as prophesized (Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 16:8-11, cf. Acts
2:25-28). Upon his Resurrection, he first had to enlighten the disciples with
the meaning of his Paschal Mystery and his kerygma (Luke 24:13-35, 36-49; John
20:10-18, 19-23, 24-31; Acts 1:3) and commission them to become the Apostoliki Ekklesia before his Ascension
(Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:4-9). Then, as promised by Jesus already during
Last Supper (John 14:16, 26, 15:26-27, 16:6), the Holy Spirit was sent by the
Father in Jesus’ name to transform the apostolic communion into the Apostoliki Ekklesia on Pentecost (Acts
2:1-13), upon being commissioned before the Ascension.
Filled with the powerful Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the
Ekklesia, transformed from the Last
Supper communion of Jesus’ disciples, is apostoliki.
It means that the Church is outgoing in her nature, just as the Holy Spirit is
outreaching from God to us all. For this
reason, Paul, an apostle, reached out to the Corinthians, inviting them to
become a part of the growing Ekklesia
as One Body of Christ out of One Spirit, endowed with many gifts of the Holy
Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-28).
It began with the communion of the disciples with
Jesus at Last Supper on the night before his death. During the Last Supper,
Jesus put the two pillar of this prototype of the Apostolic Church: B’rit Chadasha in the Holy Eucharist and
Mizavah Chadasha through washing
disciples’ feet. He was crucified and died on the following day and rose from
the dead on the third day form his death so that the Old Testament prophecies
on the Suffering Messiah was fulfilled. The communion was enlightened by the risen
Jesus for 40 days and received the apostolic commission just before his
Ascension. On the 50th day from Jesus’ Resurrection, the communion’s
apostolic commission was confirmed with the outpouring of the powerful Holy
Spirit, transforming it into the Apostoliki
Ekklesia to expand through outreaching of evangelization. As Paul has put it in 1 Corinthians 12, the Ekklesia, the outgrowth of the Last
Supper communion, is One Body of Christ with many functioning parts, endowed
with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It
means that the Apostoliki Ekklesia continues
to reach out to the peripheries, especially where the needs are greater, of the
world, with her two pillars B’rit
Chadasha of salvific everlasting
life and Mizavah Chadasha of agape.
Because Jesus shed his blood on the Cross (John
19:34), his B’rit Chadasha of salvific everlasting life for us has been
confirmed. By virtue of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, we are called
to evangelize the world with the Good News of this B’rit Chadasha, citing the Word of God. At the same time, we are
called to practice Mizavah Chadasha
of agape, imitating Jesus’ servant
leadership. For this mizvah of Jesus,
we must be “hombres para los demas”,
as Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. famously said. This way, the growing Apostoliki Ekklesia can truly function
as the dispenser of the medicine of God’s mercy, as St. John XXIII said, and as
the field hospital of God’s mercy, as in Pope Francis’ ecclesiological vision.
