I remember years ago, a Jewish friend saying that she was
always happy to welcome strangers at her Seder table but that it would be a
little awkward if they were Egyptian. I
suppose it might be tough to celebrate your victory over your oppressors with
the descendents of those oppressors, but I would hope that after millennia,
modern-day Egyptians could just let bygones be bygones. At any rate, I know
that my school district (and many others!) were happy that Passover and Easter
coincided this year. I don’t know all the calculations in regards to lunar
calendars, but for whatever reason I know they don’t always overlap. But questions from my
children and the readings on Holy Thursday brought me to the question of their
original, biblical, convergence. In explaining why the Passover meal was supposed
to be eaten under such specific conditions, certain things really stood out to
me, worth remembering for both myself and my family. I claim no original
thoughts here, but the service of memory is always worthwhile.
First, the idea that you
need to remember, decisively and collectively, the history of your people in
order to maintain your identity. In speaking casually to a friend the other
day, he remarked on how we are culturally bereft on this point. While close and
happy families may reminisce on their “special
memories” we do not engage in this on a more public or cultural level (or not
much, anyway). And yet, it is this awareness
of our past that reminds of who we are, and prevents external forces from
unsettling or uprooting us too easily. That recalling of history is such an elementary and essential part of the Seder meal and such a beautiful and useful thing.
Second, the tradition
within Judaism to ask questions regarding the history of Passover and answer
them, with particular regard to educating children in their faith.
Different strains of Jewish tradition handle this a little differently, but
many have a child answer questions: understanding what and why everyone is doing what they are is an essential part of the celebration. This natural incorporation of
education into an aesthetically beautiful and meaningful meal is striking; I
wish it came more naturally to us Christians.
Third, I was struck
this year by the (rather obvious, I confess) connection between Christ and the
Passover meal. While the Passover meal is in commemoration and celebration
of the liberation out of Egypt, Abraham
is a clear reference point as the first patriarch of the Jewish faith. It’s impossible to think of Abraham and eat
lamb without thinking of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac. But while Isaac was spared, Jesus was not. And
while the first-born sons of the Hebrew people were spared, Jesus was not.
Thus, Christ takes part in both the liberation of the Hebrew people and the (necessary) suffering of the Egyptians. There is no people’s suffering that He doesn’t,
mysteriously, take part of. So too, I
was struck by God’s insisting that the Jewish people remember annually their
being freed by their Lord—that it was not their own doing that got them out of
Egypt. And God knows we Christians certainly didn’t do anything to release ourselves from our slavery
to sin. (Some people may kid themselves, but I know I would have been asleep
before even the other apostles…)
So Happy Easter! Consider yourself liberated—wherever you’re
from!
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