Passover Time Loop

Apr 4

Written By In Search of Shalom In Search of Shalom

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Passover-Groundhog Day?

Do you ever feel like you are stuck in a time loop every Passover? Every year, the same songs, the same haggadah, the same prayers, the same food (matzah again?!?)! It’s kind of like the movie Groundhog Day.

You remember that movie, right? About Phil, the arrogant, selfish, and self-absorbed news reporter who repeats the same day over and over until he learns to be a better person.

But interestingly, instead of loathing Phil, we find ourselves rooting for him. His improved personality finally makes him winsome enough to achieve what he really wants: a loving relationship with TV crew member Rita.

Imagine that! Hope for humanity! And isn’t an improved version of ourselves in pursuit of an improved version of our world what we all long for? Who doesn’t love a happy ending?

So we have this time loop of Passover, year after year repeating the same traditions. But can repeating this – or any ritual – really change us at the heart level? We rise from the seder table, live another year, and return a year older. But we’re still beset by our character flaws, sins, and mistakes.

But who could hope that the simple repetition of a story would change anyone?

And if all we’re doing is reciting history, then expecting to leave the seder table with a cleansed heart and a new purpose would be foolish.

More than an Ancient Tale Retold!

But what if the seder is more than the retelling of an ancient tale? What if, in addition to reminding us of God’s care for His people long generations ago, Passover points to God’s redemptive purpose for us? And what if Passover is to be personalized for each participant?

The central element of the original Passover was the lamb. “Kill the Passover” was God’s instruction and of course it was the lamb that was slain and eaten. It was the lamb’s blood, applied to the doorposts and lintels of the Hebrew’s homes in Goshen, that caused the Destroyer to “pass over” them. Redemption is celebrated in each retelling of the Passover story. And what a story it is!

Dayenu?

In the words of Dayenu we sing: if all He did was preserve us “It would have been enough.” But as the familiar song recalls, God did much more. Dayenu ends the list of divine blessings with the building of the Temple in Jerusalem.

But was that really “enough”? The Temple indeed was God’s provision for continuing sacrifices (in contrast to the singular sacrifice required in the exodus from Egypt). But today we have no Temple, no sacrifice for sin. And we’re still stuck in the recurring cycle of our own faults and failures.

We are broken people in a broken world. The alarm clock goes off every morning, awakening us to a new day. But inside we are the same people, having to face the reality of our own inability to meet God’s standard of holiness.

The Lamb Who Breaks the Loop

So what is our hope to get out of this “time loop” of our own failings? The answer is revealed in the prophet Isaiah, and ties in with Passover: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like the lamb he is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”(Isaiah 53:6-7).

Isaiah promises that one will come who will take our iniquity (sin, faults, wrongdoing) on himself. He will be like a Passover lamb led to slaughter for our redemption. But who could this one be??

The Message of Eliyahu Ha-navi

In the first century CE a prophet appeared, like Eliyahu ha-navi, calling people to repentance, and announcing that Messiah was near. He later pointed out a man to them and said: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) This man to whom he pointed was Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, the long awaited Messiah! He came to fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah (and other places) to make a way for us to escape the never ending cycle of sin. Every Passover we sing: “Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah the Giladite, May he soon come to us, with Mashiach the son of David”, but Messiah has already come!

This year at Passover, may you break free from the time loop of Passover after Passover with no change in your life. This year, may you find the truth of the one the Passover points to: Yeshua HaMashiach, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

We invite you to explore this issue more. We are happy to chat with you to discuss further.