The Promise of Passover

Sermon Theme: God’s loving character is revealed in this story, both in the punishment of Egypt and the liberation of Israel. Both acts also point to Jesus, our Passover Lamb, and God’s firstborn son, who made us participants in the family of God and recipients of God’s promises.

Reading Theme: This week we will see the cementing of God’s relationship with the people of Israel. We will explore the covenant nature of God’s promise to them – it came with both assurances and expectations. We will also see the beginnings of their worship practices as the people of God. Through it all we will keep looking forward, from these important events in the Old Testament to the work of Jesus in the New.

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Exodus 12:1-13, 13:1-8  

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You will find the Sermon Notes for today’s message here.

 

REFLECTION

Passover Promise

by Elaine Pierce

Every year for the past 20 years, we have been guests at our dear friend’s Passover Seder dinner. We gather with their extended family and read responsively from the Haggadah, the Seder text. We sing, we pray, and we recount the story of how God saved his people from bondage in Egypt. And of course, we enjoy a delicious Seder meal at the conclusion of the evening.

No, we don’t slaughter a lamb, take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the house as the LORD instructed Moses in Exodus 12. 

But we celebrate the Passover meal as we remember what the LORD did for his people. As Exodus 13:8 says, “I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.” We remember God’s goodness in the midst of his people’s suffering.

After Joseph died, a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.  We’ve been reading this week about how the Jews were oppressed by the Egyptians, and how they cried out to God in their suffering. God heard their cries and raised up Moses and Aaron to go to Pharaoh and demand freedom for his people. Pharaoh, of course, refuses to grant freedom. You know the story (if you don’t, be sure to read through Exodus – it’s a page turner). 

So how does this passage relate to our life in 2020, the year of the pandemic, the year of racial unrest, the year of political polarization? Yes, many of us are suffering. We have lost loved ones to Covid 19. We despair for our country’s future. We long for racial reconciliation. Where do we go with these fears?

That old gospel hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, says it well: Take it to the Lord in prayer.  (here are the lyrics – read them and ask God to wash his grace and mercy over you)  

God will ultimately win.  He will rule victorious, and all disease, all strife, all greed, all sin will vanish.  Take heart and take your rest in him.  Remember, one day we will all see clearly, for we shall see him face to face.  Amen! 

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER

Sundays: PEACE - Blessed are the Shalom-makers, for they shall be called the children of God. We confess that we have all sinned and fallen short of your glory, O God. We have broken the peace and wholeness of your good world. Forgive us, lead us, and restore us. Reform us into peacemakers instead of peace-breakers.