ON THE AFTERMATH OF PASSOVER AND PASSION WEEK
By J.C.Cordova, D.Min., LCSW
The days of celebration are over; the story of Passover and Passion Week
remains. The history of the liberation (Redemption) of Israel from the
clutches of the Pharaohs is as real as you and I are. So, it is the history of
Gentile Redemption. From the Christian perspective, there is much to say
about the subject.
The prophets came to Israel, Jesus to Israel and the gentiles. The old
prophets and Jesus honored God with words and work. We, as the
followers of their teachings, could do no less. For us Christians, Jesus is
our model to follow. Jesus first public words challenged his audience
declaring: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (Matthew 3:
3). Was he not saying, “Watch what I will say and do, and do likewise?”
Jesus initial private instruction to his disciples turned into a public speech to
a large crowd. It is registered in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5, 6 and
7. Jesus beginning remarks are worth considering closely and seriously,
because in these the Teacher sets the agenda for his disciples to follow.
First, he speaks about the quality of the character his followers should
have (Matthew 5). According to the narrator, Jesus told his audience: Be
submissive to God and others (v.3); Grieve for the suffering of others (v.4);
Be gentle with all people (v.5); Be eager for the wholeness of others and
yours (v.6); Be empathetic with folks on their suffering (v.7); Be transparent
in your relations (v.8); Become reconcilers of people with God and among
themselves.
Second, Jesus tells his audience how to put in practices this fine character.
His followers are to be “The salt of the earth” (v.13). Imagine for a moment
not having refrigeration in food stores, at home or in clinics and hospitals.
In the Western world today we would consider it a major catastrophe. Well,
folks did not have such a convenience at that time. They depended on salt
to preserve meat and other food stuff. As it is today, salt was used to give
flavor to food. Salt was used also in medicine and religion. The image used
by Jesus spoke loudly about the indispensable presence in society of
individuals practicing the character just outlined by him. For as important
salt was to sustain life back then, so was the presence of such people to
influence society to live according to God’s expectations.
Then, Jesus gives a second image: “light.” (14). Modern illumination is a
commodity we all cherish, often taken for granted. Hurricanes, tornadoes
and other storms leave a great deal of people without power every year for
relative long periods of time. Whenever those calamities take place, we
speak about the events in terms of disaster, and we lament our misfortune.
Then, a great deal of money of public funds is allocated by governments to
repair as quickly as possible the damage caused by the loss of energy.
While light did not have the use modern societies utilizes it for, it was an
important commodity at the time as well. In the ancient world artificial light
was produced through friction to make fire. According to an April 29, 2004,
Associated Press report, the first signs of fire appeared in the Dead Sea
area 790, 000 years ago. Its first use was for cooking, for illumination
through torches and later oil lamps, for the production of simple tools, for
warmth in cold days, and so forth.
In religious usage, fire was utilized in offering sacrifices to the supernatural.
In Israel, God was seen as the light of the world, a divine perspective
remaining to this day among both Christian and Jews. Jesus used the
occasion of the Festival of Light during the Feast of Turim while he was in
the temple celebration to declare: “As long as I am in the world, I am the
light of the world” (see John 9:5). And in present passage, Jesus tells his
disciples that they are the “Light of the world.” According to Jesus,
believers should be as illuminating to society as actual light was to the
ancient world.
Then came Jesus comment on the physical work of light in the human
environment and a direct application of the concept of light to character. He
said:
No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the
lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give
glory to your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:15-16).
How are we then to interpret what is expected of us? God expects renewed
individuals to honor their commitments to Him from day one on. According
to Jesus, not practicing such a profession would be tantamount to hiding a
light in a closet after it was lit to illuminate the room. As irrational as such an
action would be, it is precisely what many believers do with their belief.
Consider the following, christianity is a way of life beginning with self-
renewal and extending throughout life on earth. The initial phase includes a
recognition and confession of sin. The word sin is the code word in the
English language identifying any human action offending God and others.
The act of recognition and confession must be genuine, through and
through, heart-felt, transparent. It may not be a superficial gesture done as
a matter of course, a religious ritual done to comply with cultural
expectations, yet without real significance.
Rather, the persons in a real act of contrition recognize that they deviated
from God’s standards for human life. Individuals doing so ask God’s
forgiveness and promise to adjust their lives to live according to divine
expectations. Whenever this action is taken by a violator of God’s law in a
sincere desire to seek the Lord’s pardon and fellowship, self-renewal takes
place in the persons doing it. This action is what Jesus called the new birth
(see John 3). What takes place at the particular moment is that the
conscientious and true effort to repair relation with God brings about divine
revelation of spiritual insight producing personal integration. By personal
integration I mean that when individuals meet God in reconciliation,
suddenly they become convinced that their lives were meant for a higher
purpose other than what they had experienced to this point in life. The
discovered purpose is to live a wholesome and joyful existence in good
fellowship with God and fellow human beings.
Once the initial phase of transformation is completed, a phase of spiritual
growth begins. Several simultaneous action commence at this time
motivated by a deep desire to know as much as possible about the spiritual
world. Renovated persons usually join faith fellowships of other committed
people pursuing the same goal, where they feed on each other. They
engage in a serious study of the Bible, the holy scriptures of the Judeo-
Christian religious tradition. They supplement their studies with a careful
reading of biblical commentaries written by recognized scholars making
biblical interpretation accurate and clear. They read books on the lives of
Christians, on theological and doctrinal subjects, etc. And as they seeking
divine assistance in their quest for further knowledge and understanding,
renewed people engage in lives of prayer and praise.
Prayer is conversation with God, and it takes two forms: private and public.
Private prayer resembles the conversational relationship of two well-
related, intimate persons maintaining a face-to-face relationship, like
husband and wife, parents and children, siblings among themselves, etc. In
this type of prayer, there is no fixed agenda except in time of real need,
when folks address these issues seriously. But this prayer is mostly a
fellowship time spent with God in the privacy of the home, a park, a run, etc
Public prayer, on the other hand, is expressed in groups. This type of
prayer resembles the formal interaction going on at work between employer
and employee, where a petition is made to the boss by a worker on behalf
of self and others. This interaction between the human and the divine is
clearly seen in formal worship, where ministers and lay persons express
numerous prayers in the name of self and others. Some of these prayers
are: invocations at the beginning of the worship service asking for God’s
blessings and presence over the entire congregation during their time
together, pastoral prayers offered by pastors on behalf of the entire local
community of the faithful for numerous needs, presentation of offerings to
God on behalf of congregants, etc. While private praying matures and
strengthen the spiritual lives of the practitioners, public praying are
expressions of such experience on behalf of others.
In Passover and Passion Week we celebrate God’s act of our salvation;
during the aftermath of the celebration we practice our salvation. “Let your
life so shine….”