Prepping for Holy Week 2020 Like Passover Zero
Ex. 12:9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.
Ex. 12:10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.
Ex. 12:11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.
Ex. 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
Ex. 12:13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
Ex. 12:14 ¶ “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.
How would you eat on the night of the original Passover? You’ve been through 9 plagues with the entire country of Egypt. Granted, they had it a lot worse than you did, but it still affected you.
As Pharaoh rejected God and tried to prove his power, life got rough for the Hebrew slaves. At the same time, the power of their God showed more and more mightily and the gods of Egypt were shamed.
So on the night of Passover, there was a holy reverence and a holy joy all at the same time. God was going to strike Egypt “once more.” That had finality to it like the “Last Order” in Star Wars. This was it. There wouldn’t be another second chance.
A second chance wouldn’t be needed after this.
But God instructed the Hebrews how to eat. You might be caught up in the stress and excitement and bittersweetness of salvation, but God says eat until you’re full. No leftovers.
It’s the classic grandma move after everyone has eaten all of the food they possibly can and she says “I can’t just put one chicken leg in the Tupperware! Who’s going to eat that?”
Wear your shoes, keep your belt on and your walking stick in your hand, and eat all of the food. No leftovers. Nobody is going to feel guilty tonight for eating their fill.
It was a great day that would serve as a memorial from then until the last Easter. Throughout generations, celebrate God’s salvation. Even though the Passover is complicated and you’ve been through a lot, this is it. This is the time to celebrate.
I can’t help but see this coming to our Easter. Sure, there are bittersweet things and just like they weren’t used to eating with their belt and shoes and walking stick, we aren’t used to talking to all of our friends via video calls.
Celebrate. Much like the first Christmas, the first Passover was a big stressful bittersweet mess. Celebrate it. Easter was a catastrophe until they were a few days into it.
When we look back on this time, we’ll regret any time we gave to fear. Let’s put on our belt and shoes, grab our walking stick, and make Holy Week 2020 a memorial for generations.
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