Traditions

Dinner at your house is steeped in ancestral tradition. The table, chairs, recipes, and serving bowls may have been handed down to you by your parents and their parents. The foods you eat may represent your ethnicity. The cups and saucers are fashioned in the same basic designs which have served human beings for thousands and thousands of years. We don't always notice it, but we never dine alone.

Next Sunday's first reading offers a glimpse into one meal in the distant past which formed part of the lineage that leads to the Eucharist.

The first readings on the Sundays of lent sketch out some highlights of the Old Testament. Already this year we've heard about the covenant between God and the chosen people through the stories of Abraham and Moses. Next Sunday the story of the covenant reaches a climax as Joshua leads Israel into the promised land (Joshua 5:9a, 10-12). Although God had promised the land to Abraham (c. 1800 BC), it was Moses (c. 1250 BC) who led the people from slavery through the desert. Although Moses had served as an exceptional leader, he died before entering the promised land. So the promise was fulfilled under the directorate of Joshua.

The early chapters of the Book of Joshua relate Israel crossing the Jordan, the circumcision of the covenant's new generation, the celebration of Passover, and the victory over the walled city of Jericho.

In the midst of the drama, the sacrifice, and the warfare, at the end of an exhausting journey in the desert, the main characters pause for a placid Passover. That meal comes at a turning point in Israel's history: After hearing the promise, trusting God, and waiting many generations for fulfillment, they finally entered the promised land.

Passover had not yet reached its full development. Joshua and the Israelites celebrated the feast in Gilgal. They ate unleavened bread and parched grain along with the crops of Canaan's land.

The mention of unleavened bread may cause confusion. Israel's earliest calendars identify two different feasts: Passover (Exodus 34:25) and the feast of unleavened bread (Exodus 23:15 and 34:18). The original Passover had been celebrated as a family event (Exodus 12:21-23) in homes.

Later, however, Passover underwent some important changes. After it had fallen into disuse for many generations, Josiah restored Passover in his package of reforms (c. 620 BC), but he made it a pilgrimage feast (2 Kings 23:21-23; 2 Chronicles 35:1-18). Instead of a home celebration, it obliged a trip to Jerusalem. By that time, the two feasts had merged. Passover was followed by a seven day festival of unleavened bread.

In Joshua, the eating of unleavened bread simply records the Passover prescription that no leaven could be eaten with the Passover lamb; the unification of the two feasts took place much later. Next Sunday's first reading shows a celebration similar to the origins of Passover, a gathering of the families on the appointed night, but before the feast had become the great festival in Jerusalem. The development of the Passover meal influenced our celebration of the eucharistic meal in many ways--from the date of Easter to the recipe for communion bread.

In the New Testament, Jesus journeys to Jerusalem for Passover (John 6:4), most notably though at the time of his arrest (Matthew 26:2). Linking Easter to Passover makes this a multi-layered celebration for Christians. It recalls the death and resurrection of Jesus, the reforms of Josiah, the fulfillment of the promise to Israel by their crossing over the Jordan into their own land, and the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Easter implies all these themes: life, renewal, covenant, and freedom.

Poetically, the lectionary associates this passage to the gospel of the prodigal son. As the son returned to his homeland, his father prepared a banquet from his own herd. As Israel entered the promised land, their God prepared a banquet from Canaan's own crops. The fourth Sunday of lent, formerly called "Laetare" because of the first word of its entrance antiphon, still invites us to "rejoice". The season of penance is nearly over. The covenant will be fulfilled. Through our celebration of renewal, we will find freedom and life in Christ our light. He nourishes us at an ancestral table rich in tradition and promise.

[First published in the Catholic Key on 3/15/98 for the 4th Sunday in Lent]