Our Sunday morning service at Clevedon is at 10 am. Join us in person or watch the live stream on our YouTube channel.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxBzxjBb3xU8ra2NHwvD_9A(the service can also be viewed at any time afterwards.)

The Reading and Reflection for the service can be found below:

12:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 this month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. 4 If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbour in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. 7 They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. 10 You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the Passover of the Lord.

12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Sometimes it is hard to think about the things that we all share in common.

I read somewhere that all the fishing people of the world share a common story about “the one that got away.”

But one thing I think every culture shares through time and history is the marking of significant moments in our lives, by meals. Or by sharing food together.

I remember a few years ago officiating at a wedding that took place at Boom Rock. Boom Rock is perched on a ridge overlooking a farm on the Clevedon-Kawakawa Bay Road. It’s a stunning location.

From memory, it was going to be a good-sized wedding with well over 100 guests invited.

It was unusual too because some were travelling from as far away as Romania, where the bride was born.

In preparation for the wedding, we spoke of the couple’s grandparents, some of whom had died but whose memories they still cherished. We discussed the vows they would take, and how those promises encompassed their experiences and hopes.

Then, just a couple of weeks before the wedding, Auckland went into lockdown. Only 10 people were allowed to attend. Families overseas were told to cancel their flights. The couple had to decide who the 10 would be.

The reception, which was meant to be filled with family and friends, ended up with just one table for 10 guests.

Looking back, we’ll remember the joy, the hope, and the love these two shared at this starting point in their married life together. But we will also remember the 100 or so people who couldn’t come. We’ll remember the plague, and the confusion and uncertainty surrounding it.

Weddings often come with a touch of sadness when we think of those who couldn’t be there—people we loved and who are no longer with us. And yet, amidst all that, we celebrate a new beginning.

The Passover meal we hear about today also marks a beginning - the start of the life of the Hebrew community. But it’s complex. It has a mixture of joy and tragedy, celebration and suffering. It occurs during some terrible events, but it is still about a new beginning.

It’s one of the first times in the Bible that we hear this phrase: "Tell the whole congregation of Israel." And we’re told, "This month shall mark for you the beginning of months."

The beginning of time, the start of history, not for a married couple but for a people—a community, called Israel.

Up until now, in our Old Testament stories, we’ve been hearing about individuals and families. But here is where the community of Israel begins its shared history, with this meal.

In the middle of slavery, death, and suffering, they’re instructed to prepare a lamb, to dress for a journey, and to eat in haste. This is the end of their slavery and the beginning of their journey, led by Moses and Aaron, into the wilderness.

We discussed at the Men’s Group on Wednesday the challenge presented by the harder parts of scripture.

You may have noticed that today’s story includes some difficult verses:

"It is the Passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human and animal; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgement: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you... and no plague shall destroy you."

When we hear about the firstborn being struck down, our minds may go to children. But it’s all the firstborn—perhaps 30 to 40 per cent of families. It’s personal: my brother Michael is a twin, but I believe he was born first. And my daughter is also a firstborn.

As we discussed on Wednesday night, if you have come to church for the first time and heard these stories you might wonder what is going on.

Some of these ancient stories need to be placed in a context. The death of the firstborn in Egypt is not just a personal tragedy; it’s tied to God’s judgement on Egypt's social structures, particularly the system of primogeniture, where the firstborn—especially males—held enormous power, even a god-like status.

Pharaoh himself was considered the son of the sun god Ra. The judgement on Egypt’s gods and the death of the firstborn are part of the same event.

It’s hard to reconcile this with the God of love and mercy we see in Jesus. But ancient contexts matter. Jewish scholars have pointed out that much of Genesis is an argument against favouring the eldest son. Abraham wasn’t the firstborn. Neither was Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, or even King David.

So we are also invited to stand back from this foundation story and see a God who does not favour privilege but cares for the marginalised, the widow, the foreigner, and the orphan.

The Passover reminds us that God seeks to reconcile humanity, to create a unified people. The instructions given through Moses were meant to unite all the households of Israel around a common destiny. They were to eat the lamb together, not alone.

For Christians, this Exodus story and the Passover meal have a powerful link to Jesus. The Passover was not a private meal, and neither is the Lord's Supper.

Jesus told his disciples to serve one another, to wash each other’s feet and gave them bread and wine to share.

The first Christians simply described themselves as people of The Way. Our journey is out of the slavery of sin and fear, as we take up our cross and follow Christ.

Later in Exodus, God commands, "You shall tell your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’”

As we reflect on this story, we see a God who delivers the oppressed, and forms them into a new community.

For us, this God is revealed in Jesus, in his sacrificial love, suffering, death, and resurrection. Telling this story is a central task for those who trust in God.

I heard the Prime Minister of Israel last week say that with the assassination of the leader of Hamas, the people of Gaza have now been brought into a new time, free of the oppression of Hamas.

That remains to be seen. But we are surrounded by so many stories today, some true and some harmful. Some justify violence and some bring to us a vision of peace and reconciliation.

There’s a beautiful Hebrew phrase: "Tikkun Olam," meaning "repairing the world." So today we are being invited to think of the stories that repair, rebuild unite and lead out of whatever enslaves.

Those who follow Jesus know that if we don’t tell God’s story, other stories will rush in to fill the void. And many of those stories do not lead to healing; they lead to fear and division.

So, the challenge today, as we carry on in our journeys, is to remember our foundation story.  The story of God’s life and love in Christ. A story where life and hope is always triumphant over death and darkness.

Amen.