Remembering the Passover

¹² You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Passage

Deuteronomy 16 - 'You Shall Remember'

Conditions

Out of position this morning as we were having a sleep-in competition (last one out of bed is the winner). But we had also planned to drive south to collect some books and visit a favourite dinner for brunch. So a quick banana on the way to the car and we were off. I adjusted to listening to the Deuteronomy passage in the car and pursuing some discussion while we drove. We have done this once or twice before and it worked surprisingly well - according to my principle of organised variety. 

Time

The upshot of driving devotions is you have plenty of time. Especially if you’re driving in a city like Toronto. Plenty of time. The question in the car is not, ‘How can I do everything I want to do?’ It’s ‘Where should I stop so I don’t put people to sleep?’ 

Teaching

I wanted us to zero in on the remembrance of the passover as a good thing for Christians to do today. I began with a series of questions about this. How might someone argue that there’s no need to remember the passover as Christians today? It’s very old. It’s happened to Israel, not to us. This led us into some recollection of what the passover was all about. The redemption of Israel from bondage, protection from the angel of the Lord by the blood of the lamb. 

How might someone argue that we really ought to remember the passover today as Christian? How might remembering it do us good? This led us into some discussion about the continuities. One of the children even said Israel was God’s church back then… like we are His church now. The exodus is our story too. It’s an early but significant chapter. 

Our conversation kept developing, but we really landed on: ‘What might happen if someone received an incredible gift from someone else, and forgot all about it?’ We thought of adoption. A young girl adopted by loving parents and rescued for a new and better life. How might she feel towards her new parents? Love, gratitude, devotion! But what if over time, little by little, she began to forget that she was adopted. How might her feelings, her devotion, her gratitude towards her parents change?

If we neglect remembering we may end up neglecting the relationship. We remember the God who brought us out of slavery to sin, death, and the Devil, so that we won’t ever forget his grace and love for us. 

Reflection

We realised we need a mini catechism about the passover.