It had been 25 years since my wife and I attended a Seder Meal during Passover.
This year, two of our dear cousins invited us to join about 30 other people at a local hotel. It was a simple banquet hall set up with six large tables.
One couple, who had obviously led many Seder meals in the past, did a great job guiding everyone through the evening, complete with bitter herbs, matzo and songs - even prayers in Hebrew.
In addition to renewed insights of what Jesus and his disciples shared during that fateful passover before his death and resurrection, we enjoyed a nice time of fellowship with these believers of the messianic tradition.
A particular item struck me as they reviewed meanings of the original passover elements. The matzo, a yeastless flatbread, was said to commemorate the quick exit made by Moses and the Hebrews to escape their Egyptian captors. The bread cooked in it's flat form thanks to the hot sun--and because there was no time to let it rise beforehand. From a Christian perspective, the matzo also has lines across it - perhaps foreshadowing the stripes of lashes which would strike Jesus' back, and when you hold a piece of the flat bread up to the light, you notice the tiny holes...and remember how his hands and feet were pierced.
All in all, the Seder experience was a welcome addition to our Holy Week observance.
As they taught us to say following the seder, "next year in Jerusalem!"
What do you believe?
No comments:
Post a Comment