A Jewish tradition - a Christian take

"It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus...got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him...When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." - John 12:1, 4-5, 12-16

(This was a very humbling experience, having my feet washed. It took alot to bite my pride and allow Tim to wash my feet, as I felt it was too below him to wash my feet, and yet he and the others wanted to serve us in this way. The impact of this expresion of servanthood is no less powerful today than it was two thousand years ago.)



"Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.' 'Where do you want us to prepare for it?' they asked.

He replied, 'As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: 'Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.' " - Luke 22:7-12



(I'm not entirely sure why there was a Menorah for Pesach (Passover) instead of Chanukah (Festival of Lights) or something relating to the temple, but I guess it has more of a Jewish feel than the Noodle salad I was asked to bring along.)



"The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt.. '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. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 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. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast... 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.' " - Exodus 12:1, 3, 6-8, 11



The ceremonial foods

"They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs." - Numbers 9:11

- Wine - The four sips/glasses of wine help us to remember God's four promises about how he would save his people. "I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD." - Exodus 6:6-8

"Then he [Jesus] took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.' " Matthew 26:27-28

- Karpas - Green herbs to be dipped in salt water. The green herbs are a sign of life and the salt water represents tears of sorrow shed during the captivity of the Lord's people. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." - Exodus 20:2

(Pasley dipped in salt water. The pasley is atop the celery in the bottom right.)

- The Matzoh - Unleavened bread called "bread of affliction" because it recalls the unleavened bread prepared for the hasty flight by night from Egypt. "Do not eat it [the Passover lamb] 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." - Deuteronomy 16:3

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' " - Matthew 26:26

"For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." - 1 Corinthians 11:26

(The unleavened bread is in the top right.)

- Maror - Bitter herbs is a reminder of the bitterness of slavery and suffering in Egypt. "So they [The Egyptians] put slave masters over them [the Israelites] to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh." Exodus 1:11

(This was horse raddish paste (top). It was very bitter and hot. It was certainly an unpleasant reminder of the bitterness of the suffering of Israel in Egypt.)

- The Haroseth - Represents the mortar used by Jews in building palaces and cities in Egypt during their slavery. (It is a mixture of chopped apples, nuts, cinamon and wine.) "They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly." - Exodus 1:14

(This is on the left hand side.)

- Maggid - The Story of Passover "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 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. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." - Exodus 12:12-13

- The Passover lamb - The lamb is symbolic of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, as well as to the deliverance from Egypt. "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." - 1 Corinthians 5:7

(The lamb is on the bottom left.)



(It was a very moving evening. I think it was an excellent (although not necessarily enjoyable - though much was) way to begin the more formal Easter commemorations.)

(The text, while not strictly following the traditional Passover Seder, comes from the outline we used.)