Amelia Meyer lights the candle for her table.

Father Jim welcomed those in attendance and set the stage for an ecumenical evening, joining and celebrating Jewish and Christian traditions. This was, he surmised, the 3,485th Seder meal since the Jewish people fled Egypt and the 2007th Christian remembrance of the death of Jesus and his resurrection. (Actually if Jesus was 33 when he died, it would have been the 1,974th anniversary, but who’s counting.) Father Jim explained that tonight we celebrate the gift Jesus left us. That gift was himself, which is his gift of Eucharist and the gift of being and becoming a servant, just as Jesus was a servant. The opening song performed by the choir was appropriately “Let My People Go.” Michelle Walker followed with the Mother’s Lighting of the Festival Candle and Blessing, inviting a woman at each table to light the candle at their table.

The host family: Jim, Meghean, Michelle and Andrew Walker.

Following the Blessing, Jim Walker led the congregation in the first act of Passover, Kiddush, a blessing. All were asked to pour a glass of wine or grape juice, hold it up for the toast and then to drink to the toast. Mitchell Walker held up a sprig of parsley and asked the congregation to dip the parsley into a bowl of salt water and eat it. She explained that parsley is a sign that nature comes to life in spring. The Passover custom of dipping it into salt water is a reminder of the bitter tears of Israel in Egypt. Jim Walker held up a piece of matzoh and broke it praying, “This is the bread of affliction, which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.” He invited the congregation to break the matzoh at each table and share it.

At Passover the youngest children ask traditional questions of their father about Passover. Andrew Walker asked four questions this night:

• “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Jim Walker answered: “The answer is to be found in Mishnah, the teaching of the Jewish people concerning Passover. Let us listen together to the passage from Mishnah: “You shall tell your children we celebrate and hold festival because of what the Lord did for us, bringing us out of Egypt.”
• “Why do we eat bitter herbs on this special night?” Jim answered: “The Jewish people eat bitter herbs on this night because their ancestors were slaves in Egypt and their lives were made bitter. We who are disciples of Jesus are not afraid to taste this bitterness as a reminder of his bitter passion. Let us now take some of our bitter herbs, and eat it.”
• “Why do we eat bitter herbs again, but this time dipped into haroseth?” Haroseth is a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine. Jim answered: “We dip bitter herbs into haroseth, our sweet paste, just as the Jewish people do as a sign of hope. The bitterness of Israel was sweetened with the hope of freedom; our sharing in the bitter Cross of Jesus brings us the sweet hope of eternal life.”
• “Why did the Jews at the time of Jesus eat lamb when they celebrated Passover?” Jim answered: The lamb is the reminder of the paschal lamb. The lamb was eaten at the Passover meal because when Israel was freed from Egypt God commanded each family to take a lamb, offer it in sacrifice, eat it, and mark the doorposts with its blood. This was the sign for the Angel of Death to pass over their houses. So the lamb was eaten as a memorial. Jesus is the Lamb of God who sacrificed himself for us, and enables us to pass over from death to eternal life. That is why St. Paul cries out in triumph: “Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us!”

Mitchell: Had God delivered us from Egypt… and the congregation answered: It would have been enough!

Jim: Had God given us the beauty of creation… and the congregation answered: It would have been enough!

Mitchell: Had God made us free persons… and the congregation answered: It would have been enough!

It was then time for dinner, a buffet prepared by TLC Café, owned and operated by parishioners Cathy and Dale Meyer. The Choir gathered toward the end of supper to sing Du ar helg followed by Oh Let Us Build This Place, the latter written by St. Joan’s own Fred Vagle. The choir spirited presentation of both songs made for a wonderful transition to the Liturgy celebration. In his homily Father Jim asked the congregation to reflect on the Lenten theme of Dangerous Stories. He explained that at this time Jesus’ story becomes very dangerous, so dangerous in fact that he is put to death. Jesus had the courage to tell those in power

May Lane-Bernardo leads the processional.

that they were wrong. His words of truth were such a threat that they conspired to put him to death. Father Jim told the congregation that Jesus knew what he was doing; that he exposed himself knowingly to the danger he was about to encounter. The entire world and we are transformed because of his integrity. Jesus’ message is one of mercy and compassion to the world. “How does St. Joan of Arc connect to dangerous stories; how does it risk” asked Father Jim. He answered that we do it in many ways, including working for the poor and for peace in the Middle East.

The liturgy continued with an Offertory Procession. May Lane-Bernardo lead a processional dance through the tables of worshippers lifting the bread of Eucharist high for all to see. Worshippers bearing additional gifts of bread and wine and standard bearers carrying poles decorated with colorful ribbons followed her. The communion song, “Holy Ground” was masterfully sung by the choir, joined in by the entire congregation. The singing of this song reminded all present, that though the liturgy is celebrated in a space that doubles as a gym, it is truly a holy place and all present are blessed. The choir’s closed with a splendid rendition of “We Who Believe In Freedom.” Both songs made for a beautiful end to the liturgy. They challenged us to make the world “Holy Ground” by believing in freedom, justice and peace, not resting until each comes to pass. The message was clear. Our challenge to transform our world through freedom, justice and peace still awaits us as we walked back out into the night on our journey.

and

Ric Rosow has worn many hats at St. Joan of Arc. He is currently chair of the parish Finance Committee. He has also spoken several times at Sunday Mass and was on the Fellowship of Reconciliation trip to the Middle East in 2003. His wife, Vicki Underland-Rosow, is currently a member of the Pastoral Council.