Scripture: Exodus 12:25-28
When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, mind observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, doctor “What does this ceremony mean to you?” then tell them, cialis sale “It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.
Thought for the Day: GOOD PESACH! Today is the first day of Passover (technically, it began last night at sundown). For centuries, Jews have made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate this holy time. Jesus would have made the trip with his parents, brothers, and sisters dozens of times, possibly only missing the celebration during the family’s time in exile in the east. This Passover in Jerusalem would be Jesus’ last, however, and as he entered the city as a peaceful protestor, disciples and family at his side, he surely knew he was headed to the inevitable, bloody end of his ministry.
Jesus’ willingness to die for his beliefs, without ever raising a weapon against the Roman Empire that was hunting him, continued the precedent for faithfulness in God set by his forbears in ancient Egypt. Anytime any one of us stands firm against oppression and injustice, we are following in the way of Jesus, following the precedent for liberation God sets in the biblical Book of Exodus. Anytime someone like Martin Luther King, Jr., or Mahatma Gandhi, or Nelson Mandela willingly go to jail to free the rest of us from the chains of Empire, they are following in the way of Jesus, in the way of God.
As followers of Jesus became both Jew and Gentile, Passover turned into Easter. As the new religion became more Gentile than Jewish, I think Christians lost sight of the liberating freedom of the Passover God, and became blinded by the blood spilled on the cross, turning Jesus into a literal sacrifice to a petty and vindictive God, rather than celebrating the Jew who dared to stand against the most powerful Empire the planet has ever seen. This Easter, maybe we can get back to the basics, and remember that Jesus was killed not as some penal atonement for our sins, but simply because power corrupts absolutely, and anyone in opposition to that power will be eliminated, no matter the cost. Jesus continues to be a symbol for the power of God over the power of Empire, and that is what truly sets us free.
Prayer: I know deep faith requires sacrifice, my Loving and Holy God. Give me the strength to go to my own cross, as I do my absolute best to follow in the way of Jesus, showing love, grace, and compassion to every person I meet, always. Amen.