I have for several years celebrated Passover on Maundy Thursday. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, Maundy Thursday celebrates the night of the Last Supper. It is when Jesus foretold his crucifixion by using the bread and wine as symbols of his body and blood, the first communion. It’s also when he demonstrated servanthood by washing his disciples’ feet. It is the night he was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane and arrested.
Many churches hold a Maundy Thursday service that practices both communion and foot washing. My old church also held a seder. My pastor at the time enlisted my help in preparing the meal, and this is where I learned how to make a fantastic lamb. We as the church would sit down and do our form of the seder in which each of the elements had dual significance. We celebrated God’s faithfulness in leading the Israelites out of Egypt, but also His faithfulness in sending the Messiah.
The Passover seder is an important part of Holy Week to me because it is a reminder of God’s continual faithfulness. It is a reminder of our religious roots. It is a celebration of being brought out of oppression. Passover celebrates a literal freedom from slavery, but for Christians who do Maundy Thursday seders, it also celebrates the freedom we find in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin.
As a Christian feminist, it is a reminder that I am not a slave to society’s views of women. There is neither male nor female; we are one in Christ. Jesus, in his treatment of women, liberated us from patriarchy, at least, at the personal level. Our identity comes from Him, from knowing we were created in His image, and that He died for us. We remember that the first person He revealed His divinity to was a woman, and the first person He revealed His resurrected self to was a woman. We are transformed by Him, and our identity does not come from how attractive we are to men or how many children we bear. We do not need to conform to the images society thrusts upon us. We recognize that we are not playthings. We recognize that, from Barbies to porn, our society perpetuates a view of women that is contrary to Christ’s teaching. We recognize that the way women have been treated for centuries and continue to be treated is an affront to God and His creation.
Passover is a reminder that when God brings freedom to His people, it doesn’t mean we sit back and do nothing. The Israelites had to obey His commands concerning Passover. And then they had to have faith and follow Moses out of Egypt. Likewise, Christ doesn’t foist freedom on anyone; we must do our part in accepting it. The freedom I’ve received as a woman in Christ is what fills me with a sense of duty to confront the sexism God abhors.
Perhaps you don’t share my fervent feminism. You don’t have to. But if you’re a Christian, I would recommend looking into celebrating a form of Passover for the other reasons I mentioned. For starters, in our sometimes still anti-Semitic society, it’s important to remember our Jewish roots (and that Jesus was Jewish). More importantly, as we remember the Israelites being led out of slavery in Egypt and how it foreshadows Christ’s leading us out of the bonds of sin, let's celebrate what both say about God’s faithfulness and love.