A church I used to go to used to have a very traditional Passover Seder meal. It was done in the traditional Jewish way. Like the Jews do now (and have done for millenia), with the same food, and same ceremony. The main difference is that there is some Christian scripture added in, especially at the end (with making sure that it is known that these additions are not part of the traditional Seder.
These Seder meals were the only time I ever ate lamb (the "Shank Bone", one of "5 foods that remind us of the struggle of the Israelites in their quest and journey to freedom") It's one of the traditional food items, after all. Not sure how fond I am of lamb, but I could eat it once a year. But there were some that could not stand even that, so they complained about it. The lamb was taken out.
One by one, people complained about the rest of the traditional items (bitter herb, almond, salt water, eggs, etc) until they were all gone. In the e
nd it was just a regular old beef stew. Nothing specia
l or traditional about it, no connection to the traditional Sedar meal with Christ had at the time of the Last Supper. Spoilsports, I thought. I mean, I don't like almonds at all, but I would eat them no complaint as part of the ceremony. Once they had the food the complainers wanted, everyone stopped going. There wasn't anything special about it anymore.
I wonder if, given their way, the same type of complainers would grouse about bread and grape juice, and eventually the sacrament of the Communion would consist of Fritos and coke.
7 comments:
What a shame they picked it apart until it vanished. My brother and his family are Jewish. I think that the Passover Seder is a beautiful ceremony and wonderful celebration that brings family and beloved friends together. Who wouldn't want that? Family is everything.
My eldest daughter learned to eat (and love) lamb during a Seder project at her Catholic school. Learning to love the foods of other people may be a step towards accepting their cultures. I'm just saying...
I had a Seder one year during CCD and I enjoyed eating the "traditional" food. Granted, certainly not stuff I'd eat regularly but I liked the stories behind each menu choice.
I don't understand why people can't just enjoy what is in front of them. They took something meaningful and turned it into something ordinary.
Cube says....
"Learning to love the foods of other people may be a step towards accepting their cultures."
I agree wholeheartedly!
I know communion would lose everything if it suddenly became "Fritos and Coke." The bread and wine are there to remind us of Jesus' sacrifice. Why would anyone want to change it?
How sad... I personally love lamb, one of my favorite dishes.
Really defeats the purpose of these ceremonies to complain about all the items. I mean, it's not like you have to eat every item, just avoid the one's that displease you so terribly much!
Never participated in a Seder, sounds cool. As I've gotten older I've gotten more interested in ceremonies and their cultural significance... I need to go back to church, just for the feeling of community and joy.
I might convert from Judaism if communion was cool ranch doritos and coke though;)
I love coke and freetos! It's all 4 food groups (fat, salt, sugar and caffeine) in one tasty combination. And I love Jesus - but one does not substutute for the other!
These comments actualy remind me of a book I am reading - Pagan Christianty?
We substitute truth for culture and we are in trouble!
BTW - I like lamb chops!
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