A Passover Feast

Our community gathers on Thursday evenings. Since we won't be celebrating Easter together (as on Sunday), we decided to celebrate differently this season. We held a Passover Seder at our home last night for our community. Thankfully, my friend Danielle is Jewish and was able to guide me through the process and provide these really cool Haggadah books that walked us through the ceremony/feast.

There was a beauty to the whole event that truly surprised me. Every part of the meal had significance both for our Jewish ancestors as well as for our Christian experience. It helped me to see more clearly even what Christ would have been doing as he raised the matzah over his head and broke it. This is done in every Seder for thousands of years. "This is my body." Jesus said. And he raised his cup of wine...again as is done in every Passover. "This is my blood." The symbolism of the event was deep and beautiful and full of richness. I've often said that the more I learn about Judaism, the richer my faith is. Well, that statement was never more true for me than last night.

The communal aspect was awesome. Everyone participated. The kids were included in the whole message/feast. The story was told, interpreted and lived out as we shared a very special meal together.

One funny side note to our evening came as we were finishing the Seder. I had ordered a Passover Kit that had many of the utensils and instructions on how to do a Seder. I ordered it one month ago. Well it was backordered. They assured me they would still get it here in time. I called yesterday and they confirmed that it would be delivered that day. As we were finishing the final cup of wine and final blessing, Fedex delivered our kit on the front porch. I had already told everyone the story when Fedex arrived. We all got a big kick out of it.

Blessings on your Good Fridays, Easter Sundays and all your festivities. We are heading to join family for Easter and then off to Mexico to build a home for a family.