My first Seder....

Rabbi Lynn definitely laughed at me when I asked what Seder was. I don't totally blame her, as it would be like asking me what Christmas or Easter was, but considering how far away from Jewish culture I grew up, I don't think you can blame me for asking either.

For those of you in the same boat as I was, Seder is the dinner that takes place the first night of Passover, and yes, it is appropriate to say Happy Passover, as you would say Happy Easter.

Anyway, Lynn invited us to celebrate Seder with her at the Shomer Shalom house here at Stony Point. As always, there were some local Jewish folks and some Stony Pointers who were in attendance. I won't go through the entire evening, but I will go through some of the thoughts that came out of it for me.

One thing that is glaringly obvious is that Moses isn't really talked about at all. From a Christian tradition view, that surprised me. The focus was on how everyone worked together to be freed of oppression.

The second thing that stayed with me was the ideas of oppression---how many different forms it comes in. There is direct oppression, and oppression through fear, and then there is the idea that the oppressed have somehow bought in and allowed the oppression to happen. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT PEOPLE ASKED TO BE SLAVES. Please, don't infer that. Keep in mind that this is coming from the Jewish tradition-----remember the years in Egypt, remember the Holocaust. It is just to represent that there is submission in oppression.

For me, it brought out some internal struggle of oppression I have been dealing with. I have been considering a future in the church somehow--be it a mission co-worker or a pastor--but have always been kind of turned off by the idea of marriage. It has never meant a whole lot to me personally. This does not mean that my parents were bad examples--I think that they are great actually. It just means that I don't put a lot of stock in the governmental contract that is marriage. I do put stock in having a partner in life. But, in considering the future, I feel obligated to conform to the standard that I have to get married to be respected in the church. This is a form of oppression.

It challenges me to be a voice, that stays grounded in my desire to not be married and still seek out my possible church connected future. This year in Egypt, next year in Israel. This year oppressed, next year free.

There are so many arenas in which I feel called to challenge the church, and I wonder if I have the strength to be that voice. I feel like so many are oppressed, and so many of us have the opportunity, the challenge, to be a voice, to stand in solidarity. I wonder what it would look like if we all stood to challenge oppression when we heard the call. I wonder if part of hearing the call, is that you can not ignore it.

Anyway, our meal was amazing, and the reflection on oppression was deep, and the songs were beautiful. If you ever have the opportunity to celebrate Seder, take advantage of it. You will learn a lot.