Passover Meal - Maundy Thursday
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The Passover
has been celebrated for over 3000 years since Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt
where they had been held in captivity (Exodus 12).
It
has become a celebration of 'passing over' from slavery to freedom. In that passing over the Jewish nation was born.
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The Passover
meal is a mixture of joy and sadness. Although
some are free, many are not. An empty place
is set at the table to remind each participant of this.
It is also a mixture of formality and informality. There is a real meal and Jewish families have
practiced these traditions over the centuries.
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At St.
Margarets, some years we meet to celebrate
the Passover in much the same way as Jesus did with His disciples at the
Last Supper (Luke 20:1-20).
We
can then see the progression from The Passover to The Communion Meal.
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The tables are set out with six places laid at each table.
There are cartons of red grape juice on each table with a candle at each end.
Fingerbowls are placed on every table
along with dishes of salt water, parsley, MAROR (bitter herbs containing
horseradish), HAROSETH (sweet mixture of apples, raisins, nuts, cinnamon and a little
wine) and three pieces of MATZOT (an unleavened bread resembling a cracker).
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An empty place is laid at a small table that
is set at the head of the others.
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As well as cutlery and a fingerbowl, there is salted water, candelabra, and a plate containing a
meatless lamb shank bone, an egg, parsley, and dishes of MAROR and HAROSETH.
There are 3 squares of MATZOT under a napkin and
a glass for Elijah.
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The celebration
commences with the lighting of candles by a lady on each table.
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We sing a hymn
and then we fill our glasses and raise them for
the first time, The leader gives a blessing. We drink the grape juice and refill
our glasses.
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We start
the Passover feast by washing our fingers in the bowl.
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This reminds us, as Christians, that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples before the meal at
the Last Supper was served John 13:1-4, 12-15).
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After Grace, we dip parsley into the salt water and ate it.
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A piece of
MATZOT is shared between us. It would have
been at this point in the Last Supper that Jesus spoke to His disciples saying, 'This is
my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.'
(Luke 22:19) and is, of course, quoted in Communion Services.
The leader
puts a piece of MATZOT on the top table symbolizing the unexpected guest.
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The main course comes next.
It begins with four traditional
questions posed by the youngsters.
Q.1
On other nights, we eat any sort of bread. Why do
we only eat unleavened bread tonight?
Q.2
On other nights, we eat any sort of herbs. Why do we eat bitter ones tonight?
Q.3
On other nights, we don't dip our food in salt water. Why do we do so tonight?
Q.4 On other nights, we eat in a simple manner. Why do we make such a fuss tonight?
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He
read from Deuteronomy 26:5-9 before answering the questions:
A.1
We only eat unleavened bread to remind us of the haste in which our forefathers left Egypt. There
was no time to put yeast into the dough and wait for it to rise. In the same way we are reminded of the makeshift
lives of all persecuted people in the world.
A.2
We eat bitter herbs to remind us how bitter life was in Egypt and how bitter life stil is
for those who don't enjoy freedom.
A.3 We dip our bread in salt water to remind us of
the salt tears shed in Egypt. God heard our
weeping and set us free. May God hear the
weeping of all oppressed people.
A.4
We make a fuss of the meal because we want to celebrate freedom.
In spite of all the tears and bitterness, there is much to thank God for.
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We sing another
song then drink the second glass of grape juice. Again,
we wash our fingers before eating the symbolic food before us. We brake a piece of the MATZOT
and scoop the MAROR on to it to eat and then we hep ourselves to the HAROSETH.
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When everyone has finished eating, the service
resumes by leading us in sharing out
and eating the last piece of MATZOT. Traditionally
this is the last thing eaten at Passover. In
earlier time, it would have been the Passover Lamb that had been ritually killed at the
Temple and brought back, to be eaten at home. The
lamb bone at the empty place is a memory of it. Again it should be remembered that John
the Baptist referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29,36).
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The main part of the meal follows, organized
by some of the church members.
As we
come to the end of our Passover Service, we say grace after the meal.
We fill our glasses with red grape juice for a third time and raised them
whilst the leader gives
thanks and praise to God. After which we
drink the juice.
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It is at
this point in Jesus' Last Supper that the Gospels give us the words still used in our
Communion Service.
'In
the same way, after the supper, He took the cup saying," This cup is the new covenant
in My blood, which is poured out for you." Luke
22:20'
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The leader
then pours
out an extra glass of grape juice for Elijah. Elijah
is seen, both in the Old Testament and the New as a herald of the last days, announcing
the Kingdom to Come.
Christians not only acclaim Jesus as the Messiah who has
already come but also look forward to Him coming again.
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One of the children present
goes to the door, as a symbolic gesture, to see if Elijah has
arrived and we sing a final hymn.
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For the final
time, we raise our glasses as
the leader praises God once more.
After
declaring the Peace, we share an informal Communion Service
together where we serve the
unleavened bread and wine to one another at our tables before finishing the evening.
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It is special to be able to share communion in this
informal way.
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For me,
personally, it not only makes the Passover and the Last Supper easier to understand but
also makes Communion on Easter Sunday even more meaningful.
Jeannette
Hewes.
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