Sacramental Experiences

Today we are looking at Exodus 12: 1-14. It is the account of the first Passover. It was a meal on the run. Maybe the ancient equivalent of fast food. After this meal they had to be ready to move because on this night they were to be released from captivity as slaves in Egypt. The meal was to be prepared carefully, but cooked and eaten quickly. They had to be ready to leave with their sandals on, not by the door. It was the night of the tenth plague; the death of all the first born in Egypt. The Hebrews would be protected by the sign of the blood of their sacrificial lamb or goat, daubed on their door posts. Because of this sign the angel of death would pass over them.

We are continuing with our series on Old Testament foundations. This was clearly a foundational experience for these Hebrew people. This is the beginning of their nation and all the adventures that follow. This is the beginning of their theology. Before this, they described God as, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After four hundred years of slavery they may have had some distant memory of the covenant God had made with their ancestors. In the experience of Passover they discover that God actually cares about them and sets them free. God is a saving God. God wants them to be a unified community and nation who will see the covenant fulfilled. God wants to send them on a journey towards their promised land; a journey which is clearly both physical and spiritual. On this journey they will find out a lot more about God and about themselves.

This is a sacramental experience. By that I mean it was one of those relatively rare experiences when God break into our lives and remarkable things happen. It was an experience they wanted to remember and relive, because they could continue to draw strength through its celebration. So each year the Jews continue to celebrate Passover.

It is a foundation for us too in a variety of ways. What they discovered about God is still relevant to us. The Passover and exodus experience has become a metaphor for our faith journey out of slavery to sin, and our journey towards the Kingdom of God. It has become a metaphor for the belief that God continues to work with us, to set people free from injustice and give them hope in a brighter future.

The Passover experience therefore is foundational for our own sacramental experiences.

As Christian people we consider the experiences of Baptism and Communion as sacramental. God comes to us in these experiences and fulfils the promises these celebrations represent, and in them we join with Christians of all times who are our spiritual community. The Passover gives identity to a new nation. Baptism and Communion represent and celebrate our identity as Christian people.

But more than that, God comes to us in many personal ways through very special experiences, which are God’s way of calling us to faith and ministry. Each one of us who has faith in God have had at least one of these experiences. When we remember them they give great encouragement to our faith and as sacramental moments, remind us of God’s love and care for us personally. The challenge is to remember them so their power to encourage us remains alive. These experiences are often dismissed as either too strange or too ordinary to value.

Like the Hebrews of old, God comes to his people to save them and set them free from whatever holds them. Like the Passover, Baptism and Communion, all these experiences have the power to remind us of God’s love and care to us as nations, communities and individuals.