Exodus 12:1-14
Most countries, if not all, have Holidays to celebrate. Holydays are special days for important events to be remembered. Israel is not an exception. They have annual holidays, which we can find them listed in Leviticus chapter 23.
Holidays were created to accomplish many purposes. Among these purposes are, keep us in touch with our history. They remind us of the great things men and women have done to shape who we are as a nation. They also give us identity and keep us united.
I would say that the most significant Holiday for any country is the celebration of their independence.
The scripture we read from Exodus is the institution of the first and most important Holiday for the Hebrew People, The Passover. This Holiday is more than blood and sacrifice; it is a celebration of a new beginning. It is a community celebration. None has to be excluded. It is also a celebration of freedom, a celebration of life, and it has to be celebrated for all generations. Let us see.
Passover, is a new Beginning. Verse 2, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.” However, Passover is more than the first day of 365 days of a year. Do you remember how we celebrate the New Year? We celebrated with expectations, with Hope that everything will be better; it is not just the celebration of a New Year; it is the celebration of a New Beginning. We hope that the old, the ugly, and the bad will stay with the old year, and the new one will bring new blessings; and all the bad things will be no more. Passover marks a new beginning for Israel; they will not be slaves anymore; they will no longer be foreigners; God will provide freedom and Land.
“Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.” You see, Passover is to be celebrated in community, in family, all united by a lamb, by a meal. And what if one family is too small to share a whole lamb, or too poor to have a lamb? Then gather with others, share with your nearest neighbor. Even in moments of crisis, especially in those moments of crisis like those Israel was living, there is a call to care for one another and look out for those on the margins. No one has to be left out. Passover Celebration began with the Divine call of coming together for this crucial moment, for this journey toward our new life
“Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.” God said to Moses (7), “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (13). Passover is also a celebration of life; God was preserving all the firstborn of Israel.
The blood of that lamb made the difference between life and death. The blood served as a sign for the Israelites, but more importantly, a sign for Yahweh, who will see the blood and pass over each Israelite house. Can you imagine all the Hebrew parents hearing the Egyptians cry lamenting their children’s death? Can you imagine the relief they felt, the gratitude toward God.?
“This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.” They must eat and be ready to leave. To leave toward a new beginning, ready to go toward the realization of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come, you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.” After more or less 3500-years, Passover remains a central celebration in Judaism to this day. The Passover was and is for Israel a call to worship God for as long as they are His people. It is also a call of transformation, transformation from slavery to freedom, from oppression to liberation. It was, and it is a call to risk the old life and embrace the new life God has prepared for them. All this is in the ritual, words, and ideas that the Passover has come to represent.
When Jesus sat with his disciples in the Upper Room, Israel had celebrated Passover for almost 1,500 years in commemoration of this saving act of God. That night, as it is related in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus is preparing to go the cross. He celebrated Passover with his disciples, and that night He gave Passover a new meaning; He passed his disciples a new celebration, the fulfillment of the Passover. Jesus is now the Great Deliverer; he is The Lamb of God; he is the payment for our sins; his blood and sacrifice bring salvation.
In a few minutes, when we celebrate communion, I will say, “do this in remembrance of me.” With these words, we will commemorate what Jesus did for us and not only his sacrifice and death; we will celebrate the reason and the benefits of his suffering and death. And even when I will repeat the words, “this is my body broken for you, and this is my blood poured out for you”, Communion sisters and brothers, as Passover is for the Hebrew, is the announcement of a new beginning. Because, “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Jesus is our Alpha, our new beginning. Today when you take communion, take that into account.
Holy Communion is a celebration of freedom. John 8:36 says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Remember, we do not serve this world anymore; Jesus is our Deliverer; he called us out from the darkness of this world to his wonderful light. Therefore, if Jesus set you free, if he called you to his light, you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. As Ephesians 5:8 reminds us.
Communion is a celebration of life, John 5:24, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” When we take communion today, we will commemorate that Jesus died for us. We will also celebrate the benefit of that death: our eternal life.
Communion is a long-lasting ordinance, and we will celebrate it even in heaven, Matthew 26:29, “I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” It will be a day, sisters, and brothers, when those redeemed by the Lamb’s blood, will be together in heaven celebrating. Until that day comes, let us celebrate our newness of life, freedom, and hope.