“I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” Exodus 6:6-7
Today is Passover, my favorite celebration because we celebrate our nation’s freedom from Egyptian bondage. We started our day by attending the services in the Temple. We took our Paschal lamb with us. As soon as we walked into the Temple, the massive gates were closed behind us. When the Passover lamb was slain, the priests blasted their silver trumpets.
After we said our prayers, we returned to the camp to prepare for the celebrations. We were expecting over fifty persons. All our family, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Jesus and His disciples, and other friends and family members that had come to Jerusalem from different parts of the country.
We set various tables with four wine cups, one plate setting and napkins. We placed cushions all around the tables for people to recline more comfortably since we were out on an open mountain. We placed several candles on each table. The unleavened bread, vegetables, bitter herbs and vinegar was all placed on the tables, as well as representative bottles of wine, all labeled for the occasion.
Late in the afternoon, everyone began to arrive. When Martha, Mary and Lazarus arrived, they told me that Jesus would not be coming. He would be spending it with His disciples in a hidden place where the Pharisees could not find Him. I felt an outer joy and an inner sorrow. I was happy because we were celebrating the Passover meal. On the outside, I was smiling and I could have fooled everyone. But on the inside, I was sad because I was missing my Son and I was anxious for Him. Love and sorrow were mixed in my heart like a married couple who can’t be apart but when together, they are always bickering.
In the past three years, since Sarah’s wedding at Cana, I have felt Jesus detaching Himself from me. It’s as if He’s been preparing me for the sorrow that is to come. It’s almost as if I died to His love at Cana, which makes no sense because I know that He loves me. But when He called me “woman” that night instead of “mother,” I knew that our relationship had shifted. By asking Him to perform that miracle, I had pushed Him away from me. And now, His hour was near. But what did it mean? What was His hour? What would happen to Him?
I didn’t have time to think because there was a lot to do. I went to help the other women to start serving. Once everyone took their place at their respective tables, the first prayer (the kiddush, or prayer of sanctification) was uttered by the head of every family:
“Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who has created the fruit of the vine. . . . And you, O Lord our God, have given us festival days for joy, this feast of the unleavened bread, the time of our deliverance in remembrance of the departure from Egypt. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to enjoy this season.”
This was followed by the kiddush: “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, . . . who has created the fruit of the vine. . . . Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to enjoy this season.”
Then the first cup of ritual wine was poured and the first verb from Exodus was recited by each father:
“I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.”
We drank the first cup of wine, and then the head of every table dipped the bitter herbs into the vinegar. Then the bitter herbs were passed on down the table.
We continued the traditions by pouring the second cup of wine, eating the lamb, breaking the bread, and so on until the last cup of wine was poured and blessed by all.
It was a long celebration that lasted a few hours between eating, drinking, praying and reciting the scriptures.
By the time we were finished, and everything was picked up, it was almost midnight.
Sarah asked me if I was ready to retire for the night, but I told her that I needed to sit outside for a few minutes in silence. She went inside the tent, and I stayed by myself. I felt very anxious. I tried to calm down by saying my evening prayers, but tonight, not even praying calmed my anxious heart. I had a feeling that Jesus needed me, but I wouldn’t even know where to look for Him. All I could do was entrust Him to the Father.
Please Lord, protect our Son tonight. Don’t allow the Pharisees to arrest Him. You know that He is innocent of whatever it is they are accusing Him of. He is only trying to convert hearts to love You and follow You. Please, Lord, keep Him safe. But not my will, Lord. I trust that anything that happens will be for your glory. I love You, Father. May it all be done according to Your will.
Reflection:
Mary is anxious about her Son. In her anxiety, she turns to the Father. She entrusts her Son to God, the Father. She asks Him to protect Him, but she also accepts that it is not her will that matters, but God’s will. Sometimes, we do not understand God’s will when it doesn’t align with ours. Have I ever been in a situation when my prayers have not been answered? How did I react?
Copyright © 2020 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.
Resources from the following books are being used on this journey:
1. The Mystical City of God: A Popular Abridgement of the Divine History and Live of the Virgin Mother of God by Venerable Mary of
Agreda
2. The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God by Fulton J. Sheen
3. Las Palabras Calladas: Diario de Maria de Nazaret by Pedro Miguel Lamet
4. My Soul Magnifies the Lord: A Scriptural Journey with Mary by Jeanne Kun
All Bible references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise specified.
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