Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504070031
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The biblical accounts of both Passover and Easter demonstrate how easily even those who participated in the original events could turn from faith to disbelief.
Almost immediately after slipping Pharaoh's chains and plundering the Egyptians of their silver and gold, the Israelites began turning on Moses, the book of Exodus says.
They had been passed over when the final plague killed the oldest male child in each house, and they had broken free after generations of bondage, but it wasn't enough to satisfy them.
Seeing the Egyptian army advancing on them as they approached the Red Sea, the children of Israel said to Moses: "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, `let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."
After the miracle of the parting of the sea and their second escape from the Egyptians, the people sang, "this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him." It didn't take long, however, for them to begin complaining again about the harsh conditions they faced. More than once they repeated their wish that they had been left to die as slaves in Egypt.
From our perspective, we know that the Passover and Exodus became a defining moment in Jewish history and religion, and its observance serves as a reminder of God's faithful provision for his people.
For Christians, the Passover has been transformed by the celebration of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, which is recorded as having immediately followed the beginning of the Passover observance.
Today most Christians are observing Palm Sunday, remembering Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The oldest Gospel, Mark, records that crowds lined the roadway, spreading their cloaks and leafy branches on the path to cushion Jesus' passage.
The people shouted from the Psalms, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David."
But in the next five days, Jesus' challenges to religious and civil authorities would lead him to the cross. Mark says by that Friday, the crowds that once adored the teacher had abandoned him.
At the crucifixion, even his closest followers became desperate and ran away terrified, Mark says.
Again, from the perspective of time, we know that those events, so terrible and mysterious at the time, became the heart of Christian doctrine.
It is both comforting and disturbing to realize that we human beings haven't changed much in the thousands of years since the first Passover and the first Easter.
We still grumble and complain about our condition even in the face of the obvious blessings of a divine Providence. For many of us, obedience to religious law is a matter of convenience, faith is conditioned on ease and advantage.
For Jews and Christians, both of whose religious history demonstrates that persecution and trial can lead to spiritual renewal and strength, this is a season to remind ourselves that our faith came to us with a price that our forebears paid.
And it is a reminder that we should be willing to do no less for ourselves and our children.
by CNB