Seder celebration with Lord's Supper

Review

This year, many families with children from Döben and the surrounding area joined us for an Agape meal followed by a Seder celebration. Pastor Wendland invited everyone to eat the bread with gratitude and to symbolically cast their worries and troubles into the chalice, because Jesus himself invites us to do so (see Matthew 11:28–30 and 1 Peter 5:7). Afterward, seven children, together with Dorothea von Below, lit the candles of the menorah, which represent the seven days of creation. Maria Hoffmann recounted the Passover story, including the ten plagues that were directed against Pharaoh’s refusal to let the people of Israel go and against the idols of Egypt. A group of children asked why this is a special night. Dorothea von Below replied that bread had to be baked in a hurry without leaven (matzah), a lamb had to be slaughtered for each family, and everyone had to be dressed and ready to leave. The Passover lamb points to the crucifixion of Jesus as God’s final sacrifice for our sins. Maria Hoffmann explained the Seder plate with the bitter herbs and other items, and I explained the four cups of wine that were drunk at the Seder meal. During Jesus’ last Seder meal with his disciples, he took the bread (matzah) and the third cup of redemption and instituted the Lord’s Supper for his followers. In doing so, one of the three matzot was broken, wrapped in linen as the “Afikoman,” and hidden. This symbolizes the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each family had brought delicacies, and so the meal, accompanied by lively conversation, was a true celebration. The children searched for the “Afikoman” and received a small reward upon finding it. Over 50 participants experienced something of the Jewish background of the Christian faith in the crowded historic setting.

Manfred Hoffmann