seder debrief

Yesterday evening we hosted a Seder. Seder means "order," and is the traditional meal to celebrate the Passover. This was the first we've ever hosted, and the first we've attended at an age we could remember (evidently my family went every year when I was really young, but I don't recall those experiences).

The entire evening follows a fairly structured liturgy, rich with symbolism. The leader guides the participants through the story of the Israelites, from slavery to freedom, curses of evil to joys of redemption. It is beautiful and deep, designed to inform all participants with every teaching opportunity: from what we see and hear, to what we touch, smell and taste, to what we say and do. It is a night of teaching who God is, what He has done, and how we fit into His story.

There is more to say about the Seder than I can really write effectively. We celebrated with people nearly 2 years old, grandparents, and most ages in between. Each guest family worshps at different churches of varied denominations. Some people had heard of a Seder, but nobody else had ever attended one. In "debriefing" with Mr. Kenobi last night, we made a few observations:

• The evening was both awkward and beautiful. Our culture (certainly including our family) isn't exposed to a lot of symbolism or formal ritual. This is definitely true when it comes to dinners at home, so having a scripted evening "service" and meal complete with leader/response readings, songs, and special foods & drinks felt like new shoes or stiff rain gear. We liked it, but we were thankful that everyone afforded each other a lot of grace throughout.
• We could see a glimpse of how it might be in families and communities who have celebrated this for generations. The youngest guests could try the games, eat or drink, and sing choruses. Older kids could help the younger ones, read some of the liturgy, follow most of the songs, and eat & drink the meal in order. Adults moved through the order of the service, sometimes gracefully and sometimes uncertaintly, often helping the younger participants follow and pay attention.
• The language can be really complex and difficult to follow at times. This, too, would probably get easier the more we celebrate the Seder.
• The leader role is more narrative, while the participants speak the words of God throughout the story. There are so many layers of meaning throughout the evening, I would guess no matter how many years we celebrate, we can always learn more.
• Scripture, both old and new testaments, seem more alive and richer to us after working through this celebration. Reading Jesus' "upper room discourse" offers us new understanding and poignancy. Reading from Exodus, after chanting the "dayeinu" (translated "it would have been enough," or "we would have been grateful and content"), made us revel at all of the people who trusted God's faithfulness, even when they did not know or see the end of the story.
• Remembering the bitterness and pain of literal and emotional slavery was tangible, as was the joy of freedom and gift of redemption. The Seder served as one of many tools God has offered to make His word come alive and have personal meaning to our days.
• We had prayed that God would be honored and glorified in our home. Honestly, it was tempting to focus on guests while preparing for the night, especially those who may have never heard of Him or this story. I felt such a peace, however, by the time we started. God brought us together in His name, rather than our own agendas. We love our neighbors, and we hope this is the first of many opportunities to invite so many people in our home and celebrate life together.