Hello Altered Stories Ministry Family,
During this time of being locked down, I wanted to take a few moments to talk about a time in my life that was so impacting, and what that means for right here, right now. A few years ago when I lived in Phoenix, Mike and I were invited to a Passover Seder. We knew it had something to do with the Exodus story, but we did not see all the ramifications of that feast, or how much it would change us so many years later.
As we began to walk through all the steps, learning about all the four cups, and their meaning, we also learned that the very communion that we practice in traditional Christian churches were started in this feast, that was given by God. In fact, when Yeshua Jesus told his disciples to prepare the upper room, he was telling to get the Passover celebration ready.
The cup that we know as the communion cup, was actually the cup of redemption, one of the four cups traditionally drunk during the feast. Little did his disciples know, that the cup of redemption would be fulfilled hours later on a Roman cross where the creator of Heaven and Earth would be hung, bloody, and broken for ALL of the Sins of the world.
There is so much more to this feast, I could likely write multiple blog posts on this topic, and I by no means am an expert here. After the evening was over, and we walked out of our friends home, I remember this thought crossing my mind so clearly, and sparked a longing in me. “they have a depth of faith I don’t have.” This began a very long journey for both Mike and I and we have learned more about our Lord through walking this path. However, what is the point? In the face of a plague we know as the coronavirus, and all that, what does that mean for today?
If you take a look at the Exodus story, you will notice something. The Hebrews in Egypt had to go through the first few plagues, along side the Egyptians, but at some point during the 10 plagues, something changed. You see passages where this and that happened to Egypt, but the land of Goshen was not touched by the plague. This came to a final climax when God told the Hebrews to stay in your homes, and place the blood on your doorway lintels, because the Angel of death is passing by to kill every first born in the land. Does this not sound similar to what we are facing today since we are being told to shelter in place, and in some cases we are under mandatory lockdown?
However, in the face of this pandemic, what should our response be? In a world filled with fear, and rampant paranoia we are called to be different. It says in Psalm 91 that if you have made the Lord your dwelling place that we will not fear the deadly pestilence, and that no plague will come near our tent. God gave us the blueprint during the plagues of Egypt, he shouts it again during this time.
In Hebraic thought, God’s plan comes in cycles, what happened before will happen again. This is different from Greco Roman thought, that once something happens, it is a one and done thing. Let us look to the word of God to see what advice he has for us during this time.
In my next blog, I will talk about the Resurrection and what that means for us and how it is meant to play out in our lives.
Until next time.
God bless,
Teresa
