A 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY
about Maundy Thursday Celebration of Passover
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
LIVE: Wednesday 7 PM Zoom Bible Study on PASSOVER
Exodus 12:13 But the [SIGN of the SACRIFICE] on your houses will be a sign for your protection. When I see the [SIGN of the SACRIFICE], I will PASS OVER you. Nothing will touch or destroy you when I strike Egypt. 14 “This day will be one for you to remember. This is a permanent law for generations to come: You will celebrate this day as a pilgrimage festival in the Lord’s honor.”
The actual Biblical text is more graphic than my alteration.
The Bible says "blood".
Which was.
A [SIGN of the SACRIFICE] of the Lamb of God, that brings salvation upon the people of God:
With the Sign, the 10th Plague Passes Over God’s People.
So why not just say Blood if the Scriptures say Blood? Am I squeamish?
Well. Yes. But. That’s not why.
My prayer.
Your prayer.
Our prayer.
Is that it will PASS OVER.
Our home.
This plague.
That threatens the firstborn of every family in the world.
And we pray:
Lord. If it be your will. May this virus PASS OVER each and every home in the world tonight. Deliver all of us.
Nevertheless. Most of us add.
Lord. Especially protect my home. Lord. My family. Lord. My children. Lord.
And so I wear nitrile gloves as I shop in Walmart with my son.
And so does he. Wear gloves.
And we have a stack of sanitizing wipes. And bandanas that he won't wear, since we don't have any medical masks.
And I don't want to wear because it feels like we're dressed to rob a cashier.
But I make sure to pray that particular prayer. As a [SIGN of the SACRIFICE]:
Lord. Especially protect my home. Lord. My family. Lord. My children. Lord.
There is no shame in making this prayer that particular. Save my child, Lord. That is what a supplication is. We ask God very specifically for what we want.
Not for the purpose of demanding or expecting God’s obedience to our request. Each supplication has the tag, “If it be your will, Lord,” whether we want to acknowledge it or not.
Our prayers do not change God’s plans. God’s plan, if we listen. And learn. Changes our prayers.
Sure you can quote to me Genesis 18 all you want. Or James 5. And argue a good counterpoint. Prayer HAS changed God’s plans, you might argue. And prayer could again. And I won’t quibble.
But I will also ask you.
Did the 10th Plague arrive because Pharaoh’s heart was hard?
Or because God hardened Pharaoh’s heart?
Whose fault was it that so much disease and death fell upon the earth?
Pharaoh’s?
Or God’s?
And I will always, always, always fall upon the answer of Jesus in John 9:3.
As the disciples ask a similar question.
Jesus kind of quotes Isaiah 40:5.
This is happening. So the glory of God may be revealed.
The plague passes over.
As the glory of God is revealed.
But this also means.
The glory of God is revealed.
Whether the plague passes over our house.
Or not.
And that can feel scary.
As the thought first passes over us.
The glory of God is not a “Get out of Jail FREE” Card". The glory of God is not that we will "live happily ever after" because of the power of our supplications.
Prayer is powerful. Not because it changes God.
Prayer is powerful. Because it changes us.
I might think as I pray for a Passover.
I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS, God.
I can’t deal with ... whatever.
And God says, That’s OK.
I can.
I can deal with this.
Whatever THIS is.
God says.
I will.
I will deal with this.
Whatever THIS is.
And the GLORY OF GOD will be revealed.
And ALL PEOPLE shall see it together.
And nothing shares that theme as gloriously as the alto solo interpreting Isaiah 40:35 in The Messiah. Not just Hande's version. Especially the Soulful Celebration.
Because the Soulful Celebration comes from the midst of a people who still remember the sting of slavery. The oppression of injustice. The persecution of prejudice. The sacrifices. That sometimes led to deliverance. But not always. And the suffering. And yes. Often senseless death. All too often. Senseless violence. And death.
And yet. They sing.
That.
The GLORY OF GOD will be revealed.
And ALL PEOPLE shall see it together.
They don't just sing it. We don't just sing it.
We wail it.
Like Mahalia. Or Aretha.
Or Luther.
It is a Soulful Lament.
As well as a Soulful Celebration.
For Christ made the sacrifice.
Christ carried the cross.
For US.
To set US free.
To save US.
To deliver US.
And then.
He said.
Follow me.
Ach. Says the German in me.
Pick up your cross.
And follow me.
Uff da. Says the Norwegian in me.
Okay. Says the Disciple in me.
Not really knowing what saying Okay is getting me into.
Jesus says, Okay.
Okay. Fellow Christ followers.
Okay. Fellow cross picker uppers.
What is the [SIGN of the SACRIFICE]
you will place on your door frame as you pray for deliverance?
As you pray for a PASS OVER.
What [SIGN] will help you see:
The GLORY OF GOD has been revealed.
And ALL PEOPLE shall see it together.
How you answer this on Maundy Thursday. And on Good Friday.
May change.
Should change.
Must change.
How you hear this on Easter Sunday:
That thhe GLORY OF GOD has been revealed.
And ALL PEOPLE shall see it together.
The [SIGN of the SACRIFICE] is really there to remind us.
Not God. US.
That.
Even when I struggle.
To see your glory, Lord.
Revealed in this.
I am praying.
I am looking.
And I am trusting:
That the glory of God will be revealed.
And all people shall see it together.
So. Change me, Lord.
Help me see.
And strengthen me.
To ask for your help.
To see.
The Passover you want me.
To see.
Amen
Not so sure nitrile gloves are the sign I’m looking for. Nor is blood. But for this plague. The plague of fear and anxiety more than the virus.
What might that sign be?
On the front door of our home.
That declares. The glory of the Lord.
In ALL things.
What might that sign be? That brings hope. For you? For me?
What sign might help us remember.
Now.
And also years from now.
What this moment meant. To us now.
What this moment will still mean. Years from now.
Post a pic of your answer on the Church Facebook Page.
If you.
Or I.
Find one.