Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night. Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name. Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste--so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. (Deut 16:1-3)
It is now time to approach the Pesach Table, hopefully not with a heart which calls this a ritual, or even worse: a relic of the past; but we are to approach the evening of our Seder with an attitude of expectancy. As you read the previous six blogs I hope you clearly see the love and provisions of God which give us cause to seek the Lord, to celebrate His merciful acts and to honor His Name. Know that God desires us to attend this celebration so we can hear of His mighty acts of love and care.
The scripture above shows it is God who invites us individually to come to His meal and to be His people. Our God is a living God. The scripture says God is the same yesterday, today and forever; who is still able to do the mighty acts which were shown to us in the past. I hope the Passover experience breeds expectancy and the desire to discover how God will bring us into a land flowing with milk and honey.
The Hagaddah teaches we have a choice in our spiritual approach to the evening. Within the Seder we meet four sons: the wise son, the wicked son, the simple son and they young son. How will you approach the evening: with a desire to learn, as a participant, with eager ears and a desire to understand, or to be enveloped for the first time in this production.
The order of the meal is designed to change us. Many come to the table ill prepared. They go through the motions, mouth the prayers, read responsively, listen respectfully - and hopefully God does something during the course of the evening: He breaks through and changes us from dutiful participants to desirous people who experience intimately our departure from the land of Egypt.
The discussions of the Seder are designed to give us a desire to share its actions and truths through the year. We have already observed the call to charity as we are to make sure that all can attend and participate in this service and its teachings. We are also called to share a spirit of understanding; for through the lesson we experience how we were once aliens and slaves who were forced to serve others and to live according to their whims. With this understanding we celebrate our freedom by caring for others who are not yet free.
We share because Passover is a story of hope. God with mighty acts of judgment saved an enslaved people. If God can bring that generation out of slavery, God can and will free any person from enslavement when they cry out and seek Him.
We share because the next generation needs to hear (and there is always a next generation and beyond). The act of sharing has kept the Jewish nation vibrant and alive for over 3,500 years: even though we were scattered across the globe and had no land to call our own for most of their history (Not only was our father a wandering Aramean, but through the years most of the Jewish people were forced to survived in lands not their own).
The story and its truths are worthy, and because of this they have endured. Let’s keep sharing their truths and living their actions.
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