Passover

I didn't really get any good pics from our Passover this year, but we did have a wonderful experience celebrating, especially as I learned a great deal about the event from some new friends in our neighborhood who happen to be Jewish. My friend Felice even brought some of her extra matzah and charoset to share with us. I learned so much from my discussions with her leading up to the Seder and was excited to bring this knowledge into our own feast. For us, of course, it is more about symbolism than a tight adherence to the law, but it was interesting learning from her about the traditions that make up so much of the rich history of our faith.

This year, instead of observing the passover as a family at our home, we decided to invite folks from our Sunday school class to share in it with us. We reserved a room at the church and I put a lot of time into getting things ready for the event - I made my own charoset (representing the bricks and mortar) and matzah (bread without yeast) to add to what Felice brought me to ensure we had enough for everyone. Here's a pic of my home-made matzah.

We started the night with worship and then each family had time to wash each other's feet. This is a really special tradition for our family and it was fun seeing our friends join in this year.

My friend Abby and her girls washing her feet. Notice the chips on the table . . . after the passover, we had another meal since the horseradish and parsley weren't really going to hold us over all night:)

My favorite part of the Passover is watching my children engage in the story. Jayden surprised us this year with her attention span and her willingness to try some of the new foods. Nathan led us through the meaning of each component of the Seder plate.

My friend Felice told me later that she didn't really understand why Christians would celebrate the Passover - she classifies it more with the Last Supper. But I think it is very important for Christians to retell the story of God's faithfulness to bring the Israelites up out of slavery and to capture this part of our faith. It is a remembrance that God is faithful to all generations and helps us better understand the intricate details of God's sacrifice in Jesus' death. We learn something new every year. For instance, this year, we learned that the passover lamb was always chosen 5 days prior to the start of the passover - which five days before the crucifixion was on Palm Sunday . . . very interesting!

I am so thankful for the Lamb who laid himself down on our behalf and I want to spend all my days teaching my children and writing it on the door frames of our home that Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb to take away the sins of the world.