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A Passover Meal at St. A's by Richard Russell
At a recent Worship Committee meeting, Hartshorn presented the idea of St. A's having a Passover Meal, the evening of Maundy Thursday, the evening before the crucifiction of Christ on Good Friday. I jumped enthusiastically on his suggestion because I have experienced such ceremonial meals and have found them to be profoundly moving.
My first such experience was at a Seder at University Synagogue in Brentwood. I was invited there by a non-religious Jew who viewed the proceedings as a social event and me as a compatible dinner partner whose table manners would also be acceptable to the other guests. As the ritual meal proceeded, I became deeply affected by the religious experience of the meal and began trying to convey my feelings about it to my table companion: This is a very ancient ritual. Through Moses, Yahweh commanded that the Jewish people commemorate his loving kindness towards them in leading them from slavery in Egypt by parting the sea waters only long enough for them alone, not their pursuers, to pass, and then guide and sustain them in the anti-climax of 40 years wandering in the wilderness. The ritual is set in the format of questions by the younger generation and answers by the older one, not a lecture: Why is this night different from all other nights?
The ritual is to be performed in groups, preferably family groups to convene the emotional tenor of God's love, so the participants can feel, not just listen to, the service. As an observant Jew, Jesus participated in many ritual meals like this one. Indeed his last supper on earth was a ritual meal. The basic ceremony can be applied to any journey from slavery to freedom, not just the Exodus. It applies to both whites and blacks in the U.S. after the Civil War. It applies to the experience of our immigrant forebears. It applies to the transition from childhood to adulthood. Indeed, it applies to the spiritual journey itself.
After the Seder, several of the people at our table came over to talk to me. They thanked me for bringing my gentile friend, assuming that I was the Jew and she the Christian, and for taking the time to explain the significance of the ritual to her.
Several months later, in a Christian Bookstore, I found a number of books that incorporate Christian understandings into the Seder ritual, and I attended several of these ceremonial meals also. I am looking forward to repeating this very moving but too infrequent experience at St. A's on Maundy Thursday.
... More, by The Rev. Hartshorn Murphy
As Richard so aptly describes it, the Passover Seder commemorates God's act of liberation in history, placed in the context of a family meal in which the younger generation learns from their elders of God's providential care. As a ceremonial meal, the foods eaten and the dialogue engaged, serves to make present the past. Three of the Gospels indicate that the Last Supper was a Passover Meal. Thus, to fully understand the Eucharist, it is helpful to appreciate the Jewish Passover meal in which the Eucharist was instituted.
Our Paschal Meal is not a Jewish Passover Supper but is, rather, an historical recreation of what the meal Jesus shared with his closest disciples the night before his death might have been like, along with a narration. As a ceremonial meal, it will feel like a liturgy in a way, although it is not a worship event.
Through the generosity of several individuals, we are able to offer this event free of charge to St. Augustines members and their guests on a first come, first served basis. Sign ups will be on the patio during Lent and is limited to 100 persons. Older children able to endure a formal dinner event, are welcome but, with regrets, we cannot provide child care.
The Maundy Thursday Paschal Meal will be held on Thursday, March 28th, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Great Watch will be offered for one hour at the conclusion of the supper, in the Chapel.
See the Events of Holy Week schedule in this issue as well. (Look on St. A's Homepage)
Copyright © 2002 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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