A number of years ago there was a push by scientists and engineers to come up with a robot that would be able to think like human beings. They thought that it would be possible to duplicate human thought with the power of technology, increased memory on computer chips, and advanced robotics. Actually scientists have done amazing things with computers and robots. Robots perform many tasks in building cars, working in mines, and even on the international space station. But no matter how hard they tried, scientists can’t seem to get robots to think like human beings think. Do you know what one of the stumbling blocks was?
Human beings forget as many things as they remember. We learn hundreds of things each day by observation and experience. But because there is so much data coming in our minds sort things and decide what is important and what isn’t. What isn’t important is forgotten. Later in life we often have to re-learn things because at another stage in time it was thought unimportant. Robots can’t be taught how to forget and re-learn things in a new way. I bet you never imagined that what makes us special is forgetting, but it is so.
God knew this about us. That is why whenever there is something really

important to be learned God tells us to repeat it. When God gave the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai he wrote it on stone tablets. When God told the people to follow that Law they were to annually read the Law and re-covenant with God. And then the most important event of the Old Testament, the Exodus was to be celebrated each year. Not only were they to tell one another about what God had done in the past, but they were to relive it. They were to enact it by eating the Passover meal, telling the story, and celebrating the victory that God had won over Pharaoh.
Jesus knew this about us too. When he taught the disciples he told them stories which were easier to remember than facts. Jesus kept it simple most of the time. But at the most crucial time Jesus did something that was truly amazing. He took bread and wine and told them to remember everything that He had said and done. When they break the bread and share the cup they would remember. We know that this is true. We remember each day when we come together to celebrate Mass.
Jesus also did something else at that final dinner. He had told his disciples in many ways throughout the years that he had been with

them that being first in the Kingdom of God meant serving others. He had shown them this by bringing a child into their midst at one time and telling them that if they wanted to be great become like that little child. At the Last Supper Jesus showed them what he meant by washing their feet. He told them that they must do the same if they were to be part of His Kingdom. As Jesus has done, so we must do. The washing of feet is a reminder that those of us who are ordained must always remember we are servants. But this mandate of Jesus is not only for the ordained. Anyone who aspires to greatness in the Kingdom must serve their brothers and sisters. All of us who gather each day around the table of the Lord earn the privilege to sit at that table because we first kneel in the dust to wash feet.
Yes, we forget many things and have to re-learn them over and over again. The one thing that we have to re-learn many times in life is how to be a true servant. The Eucharist reminds us each time of the great love that Christ has shown us in his death and resurrection. May the washing of feet tonight help us to remember what the Eucharist means and what we are called to do each and every day for all our brothers and sisters.