Sunday, September 29, 2024

Theme

For thousands of years, the Jewish people have celebrated their liberation from enslavement in Egypt with a Passover meal. This meal rehearses the meal that the Hebrew slaves ate, waiting for God’s last sign against the Egyptians, in order to free them from bondage. According to the story of Exodus, the Hebrews were instructed to slaughter a lamb and mark their houses with blood. Then they were instructed to eat the lamb with bitter herbs and eat unleavened bread for a week. From the beginning they were told to eat the meal every year, and while doing so tell their children what it was like to be enslaved and liberated. By telling the story, they would pass it along from generation to generation. This story of the liberation of God’s people was to be taken with them wherever they went, to remind them of their liberating God, and as a warning of what God could do to those who oppressed others.

Jesus ate the meal with his disciples, teaching them once the story of God’s liberating love, but also changing the focus. The bread of oppression became for the disciples the body of Christ. The cup of redemption became the blood of Christ. This community was also asked to rehearse this story and to remember the blood of the lamb through which we have been liberated.

Questions for Reflection:

• Have you ever been able to participate in a Passover ‘Haggadah’?
• What does it mean to pass on these stories from generation to generation?
• What important reminder should we hear about the God of liberation?

Reflections:

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Introit: Reference for our Introit this week comes from the Call to Worship scripture, Exodus 6:6-7. The third verse of “To Abraham and Sarah” specifically recalls the final portion of that reading…”I will take you as my people, and I will be your God”,

Opening Hymn: Our opening hymn comes from the suggestions for the Revised Common Lectionary, but I thought it would be especially appropriate for this weekend with all the devastation that is around us: “Our Help Is in the Name of God”; the phrase is repeated at the end of each verse.

Transition Hymn: “Great Are You, Lord”

Special Music: “Go Down, Moses”, arranged by H.T. Burleigh; sung by Kellen Jones.

Responsive Hymn: For our responsive hymn, we take to the second paragraph of AJ’s sermon notes, and the scripture from Luke 22 we will use for the meditation: “For the Bread Which You Have Broken”

Sending Hymn: A great suggestion by AJ, a hymn about liberation from oppression, “Lift Every Voice and Sing!”

Benediction: “Lord, Make Us Holy”; we will sing verse one again for the final week.