Why is this night different from all other nights?

Tonight at King of Peace we will celebrate a traditional Jewish Passover with a group made up of both Jews and Christians bound by our common story. Passover is a central act of remembrance of the Jewish Community. The first Passover occurred on the night before the Israelites were set free from bondage to the Egyptians. The Israelites gathered in homes to eat the meal as prescribed by God. The blood of the Passover lamb was painted on the doorposts so that the Angel of Death would Passover the Jewish homes as it traveled through Egypt killing all the firstborn in the land. Jesus and his disciples gathered in an upper room to celebrate the Passover in the meal we now remember as The Last Supper.

The question which begins the recounting of what God has done in human history is "Why is this night different from all other nights?" And the answer begins, "On this night we remember we were slaves in Egypt…" The key is that we remember that WE were slaves, not some other people. And if God did not set us free, we would be slaves still. Sound like dated language? Think of the people you know who are slaves to success, slaves to alcohol, gambling, drugs? I could go on.

We are still slaves unless God sets us free. Setting aside time to remember that through the rituals of the Passover in which we acknowledge the Exodus story as our own is what makes this night different from all other nights.

In the archives are the sermons The Next to the Last Supper and The Passover Lamb.