Passover

I have been to one Bar Mitzvah in my life. Our two oldest children have been to ten. I have tried Matza while standing on the sidelines of a soccer game. Jewish high holidays mean days off from school. One of my dearest friends now lives in Israel.

Last night, our Jewish friends and neighbors could be seen walking to and from the synagogue, dressed in black with heads covered.

We live in a neighborhood with a large Jewish population.

It is Passover.

I am inspired by their walks to and from the synagogue -- not just on holidays like Passover, but every Saturday. Little girls in dresses and hats and little boys wearing yamikas and prayer beads following their parents as they walk to services. Week after week...sun, rain, snow.

But today, I find myself thinking about Passover 2000 years ago when the Messiah, that our Jewish friends are still waiting for, was preparing to eat a last meal with his closest friends. While His people were walking briskly to and from the temple, He was trying to prepare His friends, as best he could, for what was to come.

This year, He would be the lamb that was slain. But so caught up in their holy plans...shopping, cooking, cleaning clothes, going through the religious motions?...they did not notice.

May it not be so with me this Passover.

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Luke 22:7. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said "Look, the Lamb of God!" John 1:36

In the story of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God inflicted ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of firstborn sons. The Hebrews were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "passover".When Pharaoh freed the Hebrews, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is also called חַג הַמַּצּוֹת (Ḥag haMaẓot), "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Matza (unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday. This bread that is flat and unrisen is called Matzo. (Wikipedia)