Seder Supper ...Celebrating the saving acts of God among us.

Thursday, April 12, 2001

Holy Thursday was celebrated at SJA with a Seder supper gathering of some 500 people. We experienced the story of the people of the Passover who were set free by Paraoh, freed from the floodwaters of the Red Sea. Also we celebrated the Last Supper of Jesus who sacrificed himself for us.

The ceremony was opened with a blessing after a woman at each table lit a candle. Included in that prayer was the refrain: “Blessed are you, O Creator of the Universe, who has kept us alive, given us strength to continue, and brought us to this holy season.”

George Wertin opened the ceremony sitting among the host family: Carole Mae, Joel, Jennifer and Jonathan Halvorson-Frissell. His opening remarks were the essence of the evening directing our attention onto the significance of the passage of the people. The following is an excerpt:

“This is Holy Week. In a way that is very special it brings together the Jewish and the Christian traditions. The Jewish people celebrate Passover; they recall their liberation from slavery in Egypt; they recall Moses, their leader; they recall above all, how God intervened to save them. The God of Israel sent plagues upon the Egyptians, still they refused to let the Israelites go. But the final plague forced the Egyptians to release them. The Israelites were spared, their homes were marked with the blood of the lamb and the avenging angel passed over them.

And so God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt into freedom. God commanded the Jewish people always to remember the day of their deliverance. Each celebration of Passover revolves around the telling of this story known as Haggadah. This is the feast that Jesus celebrated with his friends on the night before he died. He took the Jewish celebration and turned it into a memorial of himself. Each generation of Christians is brought into the plans of God; every Christian must experience the freedom and redemption won for us by God.”

The congregation then experienced the first act of Passover known as Kiddush...a blessing. To begin with a toast of the first cup of wine, we all filled our glasses. Next we were invited to dip the parsley into the bowl of salt water. The parsley is a sign that nature comes to life in spring. The dipping in salt water is a reminder of the bitter tears of Israel in Egypt. Finally, we break apart and share matzo as a symbol of the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.

After the blessing we continued with a question/answer session from the children about the celebration and it’s connection between the Jewish celebration and our own Christian faith.

1. The first question: Why is this night different from all other nights?
   • The answer is found in Mishnah, a Jewish teaching telling children to celebrate this night for what the Lord did for us, bringing us out of Egypt.
2. Second question: Why do we eat bitter herbs on this special night?
   • Answer: To remind us the Jewish ancestors were slaves and their lives were made bitter. The bitterness also reminds us of Jesus’ bitter passion.
3. Third question: Why do we eat bitter herbs again, but, this time dipped in haroseth(a sweet paste)?
   • Answer: To give us a sign of Hope. For Israel it was the hope of freedom. And for us the sweet hope of eternal life.
4. Fourth question: Why did the Jews at the time of Jesus eat lamb when they celebrated Passover?
   • Answer: God commanded each family to offer a lamb in sacrifice and mark their doorposts with its blood. This was a sign for the Angel of Death. Similarly, Jesus is the Lamb of God sacrificing his life for us and enables us to pass from death to eternal life.

From this passage we were encouraged by George Wertin to celebrate a new Passover. To intertwine the symbolism of what God did for Israel and what Jesus did for us. To recall with respect and devotion in remembering Jesus’ sacrifice of himself for our salvation and the salvation of the whole world.

Following this ceremony the meal was shared . The choir accompanied the congregation in songs that carried the message of the night. We sang our own Seder Song, “Let My People Go” and our very own re-gathering song, “Oh, Let Us Build”. Following the reading of 1Cor 11:23-26 , the choir and congregation sang “At the Table Of The World” which was followed with the reading of the Gospel, Jn 13:1-15. The Offertory procession rang out with “Somos El Cuerpo De Cristo", or “We Are The Body of Christ”. And the celebration was concluded singing “We Who Believe In Freedom”.

Peg LaSota is interested in the biographies of parishioners... any suggestions?? She also loves studying piano, recorder, Spanish, and of course...singing in the choir!

This gathering was a meaningful service helping all of us take part in a Eucharist and thanksgiving. It was a continual celebration of our holiest of weeks.