[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdfX7ut8gw]
Tradition! While Pastor Bert was preaching on Sunday, I couldn’t help but think of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof when he explained: “Because of our traditions, everyone of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” This is the same with us. But with Tevye, as with us, he often did not know why the traditions were there to begin with.
The tradition of the passover celebration reminded the Jews of the time when God delivered their people from the hands of Pharaoh — blood of innocence smeared on the doorposts and a meal eaten in haste. I find it interesting that we find another tradition dealing with doorposts later in Deuteronomy 6:9. This time, it is the Shema — the most important prayer memorized by all Jews from childhood: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This prayer was to be written on the doorposts and recited each day. And as the Jews recited the prayer, it would bring up memories of that fateful day when they were told to splatter blood on their doorposts and God passed over them, knowing that they had chosen to follow the instructions and were set apart for Him. No more suffering. No more bondage. Before, a people without an identity; now a people of God. This is the promise that we have too through the blood of Christ, splattered for us. Yet we are not to sulk in our pasts but be lifted in our spirits as we know — we KNOW that we have new life through Christ.
— Alex Chow
This was a continuation of our series for this year. You can find the entire series at the BCEC Sermon Page or listen to last week’s sermon directly – Passover.