On April 22, our Jewish brothers and sisters will be celebrating the holy feast of Passover.
Every year, they gather to remember all the wonders God performed to free them from slavery in Egypt. When God sent the angel to kill all the first-born sons of the Egyptians, he passed over the homes of the Hebrews who smeared the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts. When the pharaoh changed his mind about allowing them to leave and sent his army to kill them in the desert, they remember how God dried up the Red Sea and allowed them to pass over it to escape the chariots that were pursuing them. During these days of celebration, they will also recall how God led them through the desert with a column of cloud by day and a column of fire by night.
When Jews celebrate the Passover, they are not only calling to mind historical events of the distant past. They are not just reenacting something that happened long ago to their ancestors. Rather, they celebrate Passover as if they themselves- both as individuals and as a people were liberated from slavery. It is not only the story of what God did in the past but what He continues to do for them in the present. It is not only the story of their ancestors that they recall but their own story.
As Christians, we too celebrate the liberation of our Jewish brothers and sisters from slavery in Egypt. Like them, we see it not only as their story as God’s chosen people but as our story as fellow believers in the God of the Bible. However, we see God’s work on behalf of His people as a foreshadowing- that is, as a sort of preview- of the liberation that God would accomplish in Jesus Christ.
Just as the people of Israel were saved by smearing blood on their doorposts, so we are saved by the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Just as the people of Israel were saved from Pharaoh's army by passing over the waters of the Red Sea, so we are saved by passing through the waters of baptism. Just as the people of Israel were led through the desert by a column of cloud by day and a column of fire by night, we are led through this life by God’s word and by the teaching of the Church which Jesus established.
All the symbols we use during the Easter Vigil point to this. Our procession into church at the beginning of Mass is led by incense, representing the column of cloud. The Easter candle which is blessed at the door of the church, represents the column of fire. As each of us lights our individual candles from the flame of the Easter candle, a darkened church becomes flooded with light. This symbolizes the truth that our world was dark until Jesus came to fill it with the light of God’s love and truth. Later on in this Mass, after we renew our baptismal vows, we bless the waters of the baptismal font, calling to mind that our salvation comes through our baptism.
On the holy night of Easter - the holiest night for Christians- we celebrate the Passover of Jesus Christ from death into life- and our Passover from death into life along with Him.
It is not just a story from the past but it is our story. Our world is different- our lives are different- because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead
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