Our Christian Passover Meal

Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NIV

Holy Week is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love the seriousness and solemnity of the week, the opportunity for reflection, and the extra time with family.

For the past three years, we have kicked off Holy Week with a Christian Seder, or Passover Meal.  I understand this can be a "hot topic" in the religious world for many reasons, but our family really enjoys this time of meditation.  We certainly do not pretend to be experts in Jewish tradition; however, as believers in Christ, we recognize Him as our Passover lamb, and the Christian Seder connects some of the traditional Passover elements to our new life in Jesus.

My mother-in-law takes her responsibility of arranging the Seder very seriously.  She sets a gorgeous table and creates an atmosphere of beauty and peace. We do make an effort to maintain an attitude of reverence and reflection throughout, which can definitely be a challenge with a toddler!  As usual, my family provided our share of inopportune moments of comedy.  But more on that later.

We entered the Passover meal through the side door of the home over which she had draped a red banner, symbolizing the Old Testament direction to spread the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and also the covering of Jesus' blood. 

We began the Seder by reviewing a few Old and New Testament verses about Jesus printed on scripture cards.  My favorite this year was Matthew 5:17:
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
 
One of the neat things about a Seder (Christian or Jewish) is that everyone at the table is supposed to participate.  By placing few scriptures or descriptions to read at each table setting, each guest felt as if he/she was participating and engaged in the meal. 

My favorite part of the Seder was when we discussed how the Israelites would have to clean all leaven, or yeast, from their homes before the Passover began.  We each had a small amount of yeast in a tiny communion cup at our place settings to illustrate, and we discussed Galatians 5:9: "A little leaven leavens the whole lump."  We stopped for reflection here, understanding that leaven represents sin, and evaluated our hearts.  During this time of serious reflection, Reed managed to spill yeast all over himself.  I bet the Israelites kicked the toddlers out of the house when they were trying to clean out the leaven!

After a few moments, we took the cups out and threw the yeast out over the deck and into the yard.  It was a real, tangible connection to 1 Corinthians 5: 7-8, and something that I will think about often.

Then we started the Seder.  It only lasted about 15 minutes or so.  I didn't take any pictures during the meal because I didn't want to distract or interrupt.  Here is a quick guide to what we included in our Seder and their symbolic meanings created and researched by my mother-in-law.  I'll list a few websites at the end of the post if you would like to do some research of your own.

1. Candles on the table: Jesus, the Light of the world
2. Platter of roasted lamb: Jesus was our final perfect Lamb Who was sacrificed for us all.
3.  Unleavened bread: the body of Christ that was broken and slain for all
4. Boiled egg: new life.  We have new life in Christ because of what he did for us on the cross.
5. Bitter herbs (horseradish): the bitter vinegar on the sponge Jesus was given to drink on the cross.
6. Charoset (description below): Symbolizes the mortar and bricks the Israelites used in making the bricks for the king of Egypt.
7. Karpas (parsley or celery): everlasting life because of Christ's resurrection
8. Small bowl of salt water: tears for those who haven't accepted Christ as their personal Savior.
9. Grape juice: Jesus' own blood poured out for us all. 

As we progressed through the meal, we discussed each of these in more detail.  We were able to make Old Testament connections to many of them, or my mother-in-law would explain what she had researched regarding the traditional, Old Testament meanings of each food.

Unleavened Bread (Matza)

One of the symbols, charoset, was my only responsibility for the night.  I mixed together chopped apples, chopped pears, nuts, and grape juice the day before and carefully placed it in a nice dish in the refrigerator.  Want to guess who forgot their responsibility?  Yep... left it in the refrigerator.  Our quick substitution, trail mix, was hardly the traditional charoset, but everyone was really gracious in going along without it.  
​I made it... I promise!

When we got to the bitter herbs (AKA horseradish), Reed stuck his finger it before I knew what was what.  Eeek!  He started coughing so much and we had to get him a Capri Sun.  But then he wouldn't stop sticking his finger in it- I think he liked it!  He kept sneaking a taste, coughing, and drinking his juice.  It was a horrible cycle!  I had to eventually take it away.  Weird kid.

After we were finished, Reed asked that we sing "Happy Birthday."  He's two, and after he saw us light the candles, he concluded that the whole thing was a birthday celebration for no one other than himself.  So much for a learning experience (this year, anyway)!  So we gave him some cake and sang "Happy Birthday"!  How else do you respond to that?

When we left, even with all of the excitement my family brought to the table, I was truly blessed with the opportunity to reflect upon everything this week means to me.  I felt focused, peaceful, and thankful for all of the rich blessings I have in my Savior.

Blessings,
Rebekah


​Helpful websites:
http://www.crivoice.org/haggadah.html
​https://jewsforjesus.org/for-churches/full-passover-seder-preparation-list/