Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: math1h3@jetson.uh.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Passover for Christians Message-ID: Date: 22 Mar 91 03:33:32 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Houston Lines: 93 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , emory!dragon!cms@gatech.edu writes: > I have a book called "The Passover Meal: a ritual for Christian > homes" by Arleen Hynes. At our parish, we celebrate a Seder Meal on > Maundy Thursday. I was wondering if anyone out there celebrates the > Jewish Passover according to this Christian method? For the Seder, at > Saint Bede's, we have lamb, all the traditional foods, the four > questions, etc. We try to celebrate in the same way Jesus celebrated > Passover with his disciples. I participated in a Christian Seder dinner at Pigrim Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, about two years back. For some reason it was not scheduled anytime close to passover or Easter, (an exercise of Christian freedom, I guess). We celebrated the Lord's Supper as part of the meal, reasoning that the first 'last supper' was a passover meal. It was interesting and educational, but there is also room for confusion in this practice. I base this on my experience from this one dinner. A passover dinner, by God's command, was for the whole family. Yet the apostle Paul intructs us that 'A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup', (1 Cor 11:28). This clearly indicates that taking the Lord's supper is a serious matter, which requires maturity and self-examination. Those who take the sacrament should at the very least understand what the sacrament is and what it means -- 1 Cor 11:29. Most churches seek to ensure this by requiring 'confirmation' before admitting someone to the Lord's supper. We don't just casually give it to our children. I would guess that the children at a Jewish passover would be permitted to drink some wine and eat some Matzoh bread -- though I presume the wine would not be given casually. Well, at this passover we had about twelve tables, and I was the head of one table. There was a young man at the table who was to be confirmed somewhat later. I was concerned about how to handle the situation, so I asked the pastor. He advised the young man, 'just drink grape juice instead' or words to that effect. It really didn't seem to address the problem. I think the pastor spoke somewhat hastily, being questioned on the spot. To this day I think that young man had his first communion at that Seder dinner, and not at his confirmation. I would hate for him to be confused about the matter, and I certainly hope he is not. I don't think it should weigh on his conscience, but it does weigh somewhat on mine. This brings to mind an interesting contrast between the Passover and the Lord's Supper. The Passover is a real meal; it started as a 'getting away' meal for the Israelites in Egypt. It was supposed to provide real material nutrition for the participants. The Lord's Supper began as a passover meal, or as the end of one, yet was subsequently celebrated more frequently than Passover (Acts 2:42-47 seems to refer to 'breaking of bread' as communion), and it was subsequently made clear that the sacrament was not to be a source of physical nutrition, but of spiritual. "If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgement." 1 Cor 11:34. A young man at a Seder dinner needs food and drink. True, the Lord's Supper is just part of the dinner, in our case, at the end of the dinner. He can eat and drink whatever everyone else does outside of the sacrament. But it takes a quick mind and a well informed conscience to know that he should stop eating and drinking when we come to the Lord's Supper. In addition, if the bread and wine/grape juice is sitting before him, and he starts taking the sacrament, it would be disruptive for the head of the table to tell him to stop. These are (most of) my thoughts concerning the 'Christian Seder'. David H. Wagner a confessional Lutheran "A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth, The guilt of all men bearing; And laden with the sins of earth, None else the burden sharing! Goes patient on, grows weak and faint, To slaughter led without complaint, That spotless life to offer; Bears shame, and stripes, and wounds and death, Anguish and mockery, and saith, "Willing all this I suffer." --'A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth' v.1 --(Ein Laemlein geht) --Paul Gerhardt, 1648 --from 'The Lutheran Hymnal' #142. My opinions and beliefs on this matter are disclaimed by The University of Houston. [Yes, I've always wondered about things like seders and agapes which aren't quite communion but look like it. They do present interesting issues. I've seen an "agape" used in ecumenical settings among groups that do not have have intercommunion. I should note that the decision about when to admit people to communion may be somewhat more varied than you imply. I am fairly sure that Catholics and Episcopaleans allow communion before confirmation. PC(USA) has "commissioning" rather than "confirmation", and we also allow communion (at parents' discretion) before that. In all cases responsible people are supposed to make sure that the child does understand something of the significane of the act. I believe some Eastern groups allow communion of infants. --clh]