Tag: Passover

Passover Meditation #6

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn InspirationLeave a comment

After the blessing to sanctify the day of Passover at the beginning of the Seder, we do the first of two hand-washings, וּרְחַץ/urchatz; which in Aramaic means to lean into or to trust.

We see in the sanctification of the day our holiness In the midst of the holy day: and with the וּרְחַץ/urchatz, we ask ourselves, what have we been trusting in this past year, and what will we trust in during the year to come?

At this point in the Seder we recognize that we are washing, and therefore being cleansed, as וּרְחַץ/urchatz in Hebrew means to wash. However, we do not yet know how to be a blessing with our hands.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה הָ׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדַיִם

“Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us through your commandments and has commanded us concerning the washing of hands.”

Later, just before the elements are taken from the Seder plate, we wash again, this time with the regular blessing for hand-washing. Why?

Having heard the story of the exodus, we have now learned how to be a blessing with our hands. We will now lift them freely to serve the Lord, and the human community; because we have trusted in, leaned on, the Lamb Who cleanses us. On the evening of Passover, Yeshua said:

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (Jn. 15:3).

Now wash knowing that you have been washed, and prepared to serve those around you with His blessing.

Be well. Shalom.

Passover Meditation #5

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn InspirationLeave a comment

When we were slaves, in Egypt and to sin, we could not claim home; and in the absence of home, our hearts are prone to wander. Yet, when we are received in Yeshua/Jesus, He prepares a place for us: a home, a permanent residence, from which we will never be moved (Jn. 14:1-4).

In this we find the beauty of Passover, and the glory of the Lamb, to prepare a home for us as a place of rest, peace, and freedom for a family as diverse as humanity itself:

“And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:17-22).

Be well. Shalom.

Passover Meditation #4

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn InspirationLeave a comment

We are to see ourselves redeemed at Passover. As the Haggadah reads:

“In every generation a person must regard himself as though he personally had gone out of Egypt, as it is said: “And you shall tell your son in that day, saying: ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt’” (Ex. 13:8).

From generation to generation, and from year to year, we are to never lose the memory of bondage, we are to remember, and share our testimony.

In the Torah, the Lord issues commands based upon the reminder of enslavement and stranger status thirty-six times; as an example, we read in Leviticus 19:33-34, “If an outsider dwells with you in your land, you shall do him no wrong. The outsider dwelling among you shall be to you as the native-born among you. You shall love him as yourself – for you dwelled as outsiders in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

Seeing ourselves in the Passover, and at the Table of Messiah, keeps His work, His grace, and His mercy always before us. That ever-present reminder will, necessarily, change how we view ourselves, as well as, how we view and interact with our neighbor, stranger, and enemy in our midst.

This reminder, living memory, humbles. Our freedom does not become a point of boasting in our greatness, and thus an occasion for the flesh (Gal. 5:13); but rather, a boasting in the Lord, as Paul writes, “that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (I Cor. 1:31).

Be well. Shalom.