Resurrection Day

A few weeks ago, I was talking to my high school sweetheart and told her that I was preparing to hold a Passover Seder at my father’s house the following Monday night. She said “Are you still a Christian” to which I replied yes. So she asked the logical questions “Why do you still celebrate Passover? Do you celebrate Easter also?” My reply was glib, for I have given it several times. Being a Christian means to be more Christ-like. Christ celebrated Passover which alone is a good enough reason for me to celebrate it also. Then today, I was sitting at the Resurrection day service at church and watched a little drama performed by two members of the church, and I was struck by what I think is one of the “great” truths.

The Passover story is read from a Passover Haggadah. Haggadah is a Hebrew word that means telling. What we are charged to do is tell the story of Exodus. “In every generation each individual is bound to regard himself as if he had gone personally forth from Egypt, as it is said “And thou shalt relate to thy son on that day saying, this is on account of what the Eternal did for me, when I went forth from Egypt” Thus it was not our ancestors alone, whom the Most Holy, blessed be He, then redeemed but us also did He redeem with them, as it is said, and He brought us forth from thence, in order to bring us in, that He might give us the land which he swore unto our ancestors.” I have often said that there is nothing in the New Testament that you will not find mention of in the “Old” Testament. And herein lies the Great truth.

Our God doesn’t lie. He always keeps his promises. We were slaves unto the Sin and Darkness. He sacrificed his one and only Son, to bring us forth from our captivity, washing away our sin and bringing us into light, so that we might inherit the Promised Land of His Kingdom. The Haggadah tells us “ Rabbi (teacher) Gamliel saith, that whoever does not make mention of three things at the Passover Feast, has not done his duty, namely, the sacrifice of the Passover, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs.”

And so I say to you my brethren, that he who does not make mention of three things on this Resurrection Sunday has not done his duty, namely the sacrifice of our Lord, the rending of his flesh by the stripes he bore (remember, the unleavened bread is his body), and Redemption from the embittered lives we led while enslaved to sin and darkness through His resurrection. And so we are charged on this day to tell the story of our Redemption in the first person, for through the Stripes, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection, not only were our ancestors brought forth but we were also. This must be done, for not only did our Lord God and Father redeem our ancestors, through our belief in Jesus Christ, he does also redeem us. Selah