a little wrap-up

I neglected to sort of recap the Passover service that my church did. (Lydia asked about it).

(Yes, Passover service - recognizing the Jewish origins of the Christian faith, and trying to teach people a little more about what is probably the most important holiday in the Jewish calendar).

We did have a small meal - roasted lamb shank (and after it was over, I sidled up to the person who prepared it and asked where it was obtained. I really love lamb but it's hard to find good lamb here. It turned out it was bought at a Central Market in Fort Worth. Oh, well.). We also had matzoh that someone made (and I assume they kept to the "under 22 minutes" or whatever the rule is, to prevent leaven from developing). And charoset, which was better than the charoset I made last year. And parsley dipped in salt water. (I just dipped mine sparingly but figured once wouldn't kill me). And the horseradish, which I brought.

We wound up doing the "Hillel sandwiches" with the matzoh, charoset, and horseradish. Interestingly, it's a good combination - you would not think it would be, but it is. (I have to remember for the future: Reese brand horseradish is better than the Beaver brand I had been getting; it's milder and more balanced in flavor).

Oh, and the four cups, except we used grape juice and the little Communion cups we use (which was a relief to me - supposedly beta blockers can make you a lot more sensitive to alcohol and I didn't exactly have a tolerance built up before going on them...). It did make it more clear how this is the origin of the Lord's Supper.

We also did some of the Haggadah, but not the whole thing. And we changed things up - the children who were supposed to come did not (the whole family was down with that stomach thing that's making the rounds) so the interim pastor quickly picked up the stale hot dog buns (!) that were serving as the symbolic leaven to be found and removed. And he appointed the oldest person present - a woman in her early 90s - to take on the "child role" in the reading ("How is this night different from all other nights" and other questions).

It was actually a nice symmetry, doing that - the interim minister, at 30, was the youngest person present, and he had the role of the leader, and then the oldest person present had the role of the child. (And I think that I, at 44, was the second-youngest person present, and I was the other leader, taking the role the mother of the family would traditionally have taken - lighting candles, reading specific blessings, etc.)

We did not do the symbolic washing of the hands, though the interim minister did note the points where it would have been done. We did, however, have the "Elijah seat" set but open at the head table.  (The Elijah seat can also represent people who have been killed for their faith over the years, or for family and friends no longer with us....)

There was also some exposition added in, which people who grew up in Jewish faith/culture would not have needed, about what each of the foods symbolized, why four cups, and so forth. So we learned a little bit as well. 

Towards the end of the service was where the "modifications for Christians" came in - the note that we do not look for Elijah to return, we do not look for the coming (well, the first coming...) of the Messiah because we believe He was Jesus....and there were some differences in the prayers at the end.

There weren't a huge number of people present - maybe 20 - but I think we all found it meaningful. I'd like to do that again next year. Not necessarily as a reader (though if asked, I'd do it again) but it's a nice way to mark Maundy Thursday.

***

My Easter was fairly quiet. I went to church, but then I always go to church on Sunday (unless I'm sick or traveling). After church I cooked a slightly more elaborate meal than I sometimes do - I fixed a steak (and used the rest of the jar of horseradish to make horseradish sauce for it. Because I can't salt food now, I used things like vinegar and horseradish and other seasonings. I really rather like horseradish, which seems funny to me because I dislike most other bitter/hot things. But with horseradish, the "hot" mainly stays in my mouth and sinuses....with hot peppers I still feel the burn in my stomach (and farther...) and I don't like that. And I find the bitterness of horseradish somehow kind of pleasant against the rich beef....)

And I had Easter candy. My parents had sent me back with a box that they told me was Easter candy.

I had to laugh when I opened it. My dad has been ordering from Bissinger's, which is a St. Louis based chocolatier, and he had gotten me several packages of dark chocolate bunny ears. Yes, just the ears. (Several places do this).

There's a family joke about this. I don't remember it, but when I was very small, maybe three or so, on Easter, my parents got me one of those big hollow chocolate bunnies. They set it on the table in front of me, thinking I'd just look at it, and turned to get the camera. When they turned back, I had bitten the ears off, and my mother tells me I looked at her and said, "Good ears." So ever since then, whenever "just the ears" have been available, one of them gets me a set of chocolate bunny ears for Easter....