Christian Seder

After a pretty subpar lenten observance, I decided at the last minute to put together a simple Christian Seder for our homegroup night.

I spent hours scouring the internet for Christian Seder Haggadahs, and I finally pieced together my own which ended up being 7 pages long, but only took us about a 1/2 hour to get through.

Seder Excerpts:

PARSLEY: Green represents springtime and new life. For Jews, the first Passover was a new springtime of hope for God’s people. For Christians, the first Easter was a springtime of hope for all humankind. First let us dip the greens in salt water representing the bitter sweat and tears of the Jews in slavery in Egypt. Now let us dip some greens in a sweet dressing to remind us of the new life we have in Christ.

RADISH: For Jews, the radishes are bitter herbs that remind us of the hardships of God’s people in Egypt. Today our sinful habits are another kind of bitter slavery that robs us of the freedom Jesus won for us.

APPLE MIXTURE (Center): For Jews, this “Charoseth” represents the mortar used by the Hebrews in making mud bricks for their slavemasters in Egypt. It tastes good to remind us of the sweetness that God can bring into the most bitter of our circumstances. “I am sorely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word! How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” [Psalm 119:107, 103]

EGG: For Jews, the egg is a symbol of mourning, reminding us that the Temple in Jerusalem is no longer standing, so sacrifices are no longer offered. But for Christians the egg is a symbol of new life (since it has no beginning and no end) and reminds us that God’s grace is not confined to sacrifices in a temple.

MATZAH/MATZO: For Jews, there was no time for the bread to rise when they were leaving Egypt. This unleavened bread or “bread of affliction” reminds us the Jews were delivered from slavery in Egypt, and were given new life. And we as Christians were delivered from sin (represented by leaven) and also have new life.

Ritual washing

For Jews, this was not sanitary, but symbolic of the “clean hands” with which one came before God (Ps 24:3-4). For Christians, it reminds us of Jesus washing the apostle’s feet (John 13:1-17). We will symbolically cleanse one another with water, remembering our Baptism.

John decides to eat the yolk of the egg first.

I had to spoon feed Noelle the Charoseth in order to keep her occupied.

John is digging his "wine" (cranberry juice.)

The kids found the missing Matzo!

The father takes the middle square of the 3 whole Matzos, breaks it in half, puts one half back and hides the other half where he wants. Everyone closes his eyes while this is done. The children will look for the hidden piece later.

Leader: The middle portion is hidden and will be found (later) as a symbol to Jews of the redemptive Messiah which they long for but have not yet seen. For Christians, these three squares of Matzo represent the beautiful picture of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The son (middle one) is broken and hidden away/buried.

Third Cup: The Cup of Redemption

Leader: In Jewish tradition a special cup is set before an empty chair for the prophet Elijah. This is in hope he will come to announce the Messiah. For Christians, the Messiah is Jesus (Luke 4:21), and we look forward to His coming again in glory. Leader lifts up Elijah's cup. I have taken Elijah’s cup because we no longer wait for the Messiah. With this in mind, we will take communion with the unleavened bread that was found and Jesus’ cup.

Child: What does the wooden cross teach us?

Leader: In Old Testament times, a spotless lamb was sacrificed to God in the Temple and brought home for the Passover Seder. Since the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., most Jews now simply display a charred lamb bone as the Seder centerpiece. For Christians, Jesus, our Spotless Lamb of God, was sacrificed once and for all, on the cross for our freedom from sin and hell. Instead of a charred bone, we proudly display a cross for our centerpiece.

Overall, I learned a lot and will add this to my holiday semi-traditions. It was a great kid-friendly way to celebrate our Jewish history and the fulfillment of Jesus.