PAID FORWARD

A sermon by George R. Pasley

Exodus 12:1-14; Romans 13:8-14

We just read the instructions for Passover.

They were instructions for what was to be the beginning of the Jewish year.

Chronologically, the instructions were the very first commandment given by God to the Jewish people.

Passover is a night in which the Jews celebrate their freedom. You might say it’s like the Fourth of July, except not exactly.

You see, freedom was an absolute gift from God. The Jews were slaves in Egypt, unable to do anything to obtain their own freedom. It was given to them, pure gift, by God.

So this commandment was given: remember, celebrate, & observe this freedom that God gave you.

Every command that followed was based on that incredible experience of being a slave, then suddenly becoming free.

Even the first of the Ten Commandments is a reminder: I am the Lord Your God who brought you out of Egypt…

Remember, celebrate, observe.

You are familiar, I’m certain, with the Elizabeth Peratrovich story- how she and her husband were shunned and snubbed by the businesses in Juneau because they were Native Alaskans.

You know how she campaigned for civil rights legislation to outlaw those practices.

And maybe you know that on the night the law was finally changed, she and her husband went dancing, in a place where they had not been admitted before.

They remembered, they celebrated, and they kicked up their heels and lived in a way that was life affirming.

That was Passover. This is communion.

The words we speak- this is my body broken for you- were spoken by Jesus when he remembered, celebrated and observed the Passover commandment with his disciples.

But that Passover meal became something extra. It also became the story of Jesus’ love for us, dying to give us freedom from sin.

When we break this bread and pour this cup we see, we hear, and we taste the love of God for us.

Like Elizabeth’s experience of freedom, it ought to kindle in us a desire to kick up our heels in the manner of people free from deeds of darkness- remembering, celebrating and observing love at every opportunity.

Saturday morning at 2 a.m. my neighbors had a party. It lasted until dawn and I’m certain that for them it was fun while it lasted.

But I’m also certain that while I was out enjoying the gifts of God on a beautiful day in Alaska, they were suffering the consequences.

This table tells us that a better way is possible, a way in which we remember the bottomless depths of God’s love for us, a way in which we celebrate that first love with tangible deeds of love- practicing mercy, working for justice, and building a peaceful world.

You see, that love cannot be paid back. It was a gift, and gifts cannot be repaid. But they can be passed on, paid forward, and when we do, they multiply.

So let’s kick up our heels, whenever we get the chance.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen