“How different this night is from all other nights!”
The story of Passover has been told and retold through countless generations for thousands of years. My family has celebrated a yearly Christian Passover for decades, telling the story to me and my brothers and whoever else happened to attend from year to year. This year we were blessed to have the opportunity to host a Passover Seder to tell the story to our own West End family! For those who were able to attend, we had a great experience! I have heard from many that it was a new and meaningful experience! For many though, questions remain; what is Passover, why does it matter, and what relevance does it have today? 
By Daniel Baker (Seder presented by Rev. Tom Baker and Daniel & Olivia Baker)
While a little more than 60 of our West End family members were able to attend our Passover Seder and experience it for themselves, there were many more who were unable to make it so I will offer a brief explanation in hopes that those who were unable to attend may join us in the future. So what is the story of Passover? Why is it called Passover? Passover is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The Hebrew word “Pesach” or in English “Passover” refers to the Angel of Death “passing over” the homes of those who had smeared the lamb’s blood on their doorposts as God had commanded. On the night of the very first passover the Israelites ate their meals dressed and ready to flee the land of Egypt in faithful anticipation of what God was going to do. They spread the blood of the lamb on the doorposts as a sign that they were being faithfully obedient to God’s commands and for that they were spared tragedy and were freed. The angel of Death killed all the first born of every house which did not have the blood of the lamb on it. With that final and darkest of all the plagues, God won the battle for his people and Pharaoh set the people of Israel free to go worship their God in their own land. That is why the Jews have celebrated the Passover for milenia and continue to celebrate it to this day. It is, in essence, the first Jewish independence day!
Passover is a Jewish holiday, so why do we as Christians celebrate it? The imagery and symbolism of Passover is so rich in meaning and stoically beautiful! The children of Israel obeyed God and covered themselves with the blood of a lamb to protect themselves and their first-borns from the Angel of Death, the Destroyer. Matthew 10 tells us not to fear those that can kill the body but to fear Him who can destroy the body and the soul in hell. For us as Christians, God has given us a solution so we no longer have to fear the destroyer of body and soul. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who freed his people from bondage in Egypt sacrificed his own first born son on our behalf. Jesus was both the first born and the lamb! His blood protects us and he takes the penalty we deserve! Christians celebrate Passover not as rigid obedience to some ancient code of laws but as a way to remind ourselves of the great, awesome, powerful work that God has done thousands of years before any of us were born to accomplish our salvation! God has been working since the beginning, since a time before our minds can even comprehend to secure our place in the new Eden, the new promised land, forever dwelling with the Lamb whose blood covers us!
