Friday, April 18, 2008

Pass Over...Week of Unleavened Bread

PASS OVER

I realize many think I am off my rocker, so to speak, I want to assure them that I have never been more sane in my life. Questions who’s answers once eluded me are being answered with truth, faith and facts.

So for starters…Pass Over. Many years in church and this Holy Day now makes sense to me. My past taught me that this is a time for Jesus to bless and forgive us for our sins. A Sunday when being at church is of utmost importance…

So we arrived in our best clothes, rested and ready to “repent” and be forgiven. A band aid to heal our souls. After a sermon of how Jesus died for us and how we should repent we went to the front of the church, bowed down before the pastor and received our “offering” of the “flesh and blood”. We returned to our seats, sung a gospel from Psalms prayed and that was it…over. All forgiven. Go back to your lives just be sure to be here in a month to do this again.

Wrong, all of it, many religions practice a Kosher Diet for Pass Over and the week of unleavened bread…now I had to ask…what the heck is a week of unleavened bread…never hear of this in my church’s past.

So as the story goes…..

Many long years ago Jesus Christ came to this earth in the form of a man, born of a virgin mother. He did this to relieve mankind of the need for killing to sacrifice. He gave his flesh and blood to protect and save everything. Murder is a sin. A GOD fearing human will not kill another for any reason unless told to by GOD himself…but this has not been done in thousands of years…another reason Jesus came to this earth.

During Jesus’ life time on this earth he was tempted, as all men are, by sin; he stood firm to the WORD of GOD, being GOD like in a mans body allowed him to be able to do this, he was also man though, he prayed to HIS FATHER the night he was taken to be crucified and he asked to be spared this coming of events if it were at all possible. Yet he suffered torture at the hands of man for hours and only asked for them to be forgiven as they do not know. AMAZING the strength of faith.

Okay before this prayer and his capture he had a dinner with his disciples. He spoke to them of the things to come and the way they would respond. He forecasted for them how they themselves would behave after his death, and he was right. Peter Paul and Mark all mention these in their writings of this time. After washing their hands in a ceremonial bowl Jesus took the loaf of bread and blessed it and gave it to his disciples saying “Take and eat; this is my body.” (Mathews…but you got to read the whole book…hehe)

He went on to ask the men he called brothers to honor him once a year by eating only unleavened bread for the week after Pass Over…the Week Of Unleavened Bread. Now why is it that simple…a memorial for Jesus…one week a year…no leavened bread…yet religion has blow it up to be special foods and drinks…He did not make it hard…just asked to be remembered and honored for one week a year.

Now I have always thanked Jesus daily, but to give him one week a year to think of his sacrifices every time I ate unleavened bread…I would have done that he did a lot more than that for me.

But…this goes back before Jesus time…Moses removed the Israelites (GODs people) from the Egyptians on Pass Over too. Pass Over was planned by GOD when man first came about. Many times over now Pass Over has come and gone with no one realizing it.

Noah…Pass Over.

Jericho…Pass Over.

Babylon…Pass Over…

And the history goes on and on…Pass Over…the one and only time that many got to show the LORD they were with him…the consequences have been deadly…

How long could they tread water?

A city surrounded and built of brick must have hurt when it crumbled down.

Babylon….now no one can understand anyone else…and the tribes were sent to different regions or killed.

In the past before Jesus came and sacrificed himself for us Pass Over required a lot of preparations and planning…Jesus died a horrible death to ease the burden of Pass Over, in hopes that many would stick with it instead of straying…GOD tried, we wanted more.

So now Pass Over…first Sabbath is not Sunday as the Roman Catholic Church has lead us to believe….they made the calendar…look it up. Sabbath is and always has been on a Saturday. Starting as all days were meant to…at sundown the day before…God intended sundown to end one day and begin the next…not midnight.

At sundown tonight Pass Over begins. It will end at sundown tomorrow night. To honor Pass Over one must have faith in the LORD JESUS CHRIST and to show him so it is simple…honor the Seventh day Sabbath…do not work…study and play what more could one want on a Saturday. If it is a Pass Over Sabbath as this one is…you simply throw away all leavening agents in your home and any breads you have made with them. Simple nothing fancy to eat or prepare…JESUS died to alleviate that. Now a meal should be planned for the Pass Over after sundown on Friday instead of the normal dinner hour…with unleavened bread…then one week of eating it and thanking JESUS for what he has done for us. Changing our ways, and accepting that HIS KINGDOM will govern this earth anyway.

Many will not have read this far. I am posting this because I hope someday they may want the answers to these questions and I know I have posted them to the best of my understanding. I am just a student here too, but eager to learn more.

1 comment:

Heidi said...

In the Jewish passover, I have only participated in twice, my understanding is that it is to remind us of the little joys and
the sacrifices that were made.

The foods they eat during passover, are to remind us that the simplest of things were given up when Israelites' exodus from Egypt and the liberated from slavery.

"The holiday's primary symbol, is eaten to recall the rapid departure of the Israelies from Egypt"

With the rapid departure, leavening agents weren't to found, or could not be kept without fermentation, the sweets were left for more important items for survival, hence the bitter roots.

The the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt took place in the spring and so Passover must be celebrated in the spring. Fow Jewish people they start on the 15th of "Nisan" ... which I assume is April.

Leviticus 23:5-8 states, "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at dusk, is the LORD'S passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD; seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days; in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work."[11]

The name passover, is believed to originate because "he passed over", meaning god passed over the house of Israelites during the plague. It could also mean he "hovered over, guarding" the Israelites.

The whole Pasover thing is really quit interesting, and ceremonial.. The story/ceremony (the Haggadah) they use really explains why and the symbolism behind the meal. All of the food is blessed, before you prepare it or eat it. Everyone has a part. My favorite part is the chugging the four glasses of wine and the baked eggs. Did you know that only jewish men used to be able to participate, our hostess adds an Orange to the "Seder plate" she had a very funny and real reason for doing so.

The kids enjoy finding the Mataza, that is hidden, for prizes.

I have never participated in a "Christen" passover... It was not something I remember the Methodist church doing.