Preparing for Passover
"For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses. . ." Exodus 12:15
During the days before Passover, leavened items are removed from the home. These include all breads and cakes that contain yeast. Preparation begins with a thorough cleaning, culminating in a ceremonial search for leaven, called bedikat khameytz.
Let us also ready our hearts for the Passover seder, the order of service. Tradition teaches that in each generation, we must consider ourselves as having personally been freed from Egypt. As we prepare for this experience of personal redemption, let us put far from us the leaven of sin hidden within our hearts.
Haggadah means "the telling." Passover is a story that has been retold for thousands of years. It is a story of miraculous transitions — from slavery to freedom, from despair to hope, from darkness to light. Its greatness is the greatness of God. Its timelessness comes from the eternal truth of His involvement with His people. As God cared for the children of Israel in ancient times, He cares for all who are His today.
Upon the table is a seder plate, holding the ceremonial items of Passover. There are bitter herbs, a roasted egg, a sweet apple mixture, parsley, and a bone. Curious things, yet all part of the telling. Let us allow our senses to fully participate, taking in the sights and smells, tasting each ingredient, listening to every word. Let us see, hear, and feel the truth of God’s love.
One of Messiah’s last earthly acts was the celebration of the Passover. Gathering his disciples in a small room in Jerusalem, he led them in a seder. "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Luke 22:15) He passed the foods among them. It was there, in the context of this celebration that Yeshua revealed to them the mystery of God’s plan of redemption. He spoke to them of his body and blood. He explained to them that he would have to die.
It was no coincidence that Messiah chose the Passover for the setting of what is now celebrated as communion, the Lord’s supper. For in the story of the Passover lamb, Yeshua could best communicate the course he would be taking over the confusing hours that were to follow. Here, as we participate together in the Passover seder, may we experience once again God’s great redemption.
