...with your sandals on your feet.

It's 2:30 in the morning and I'm wide awake, mostly because of adrenaline and now I wait for it to wear off. A little while ago, I managed to go from asleep in my pajamas to dressed and in a hospital room in another building 8 floors up in less than 6 minutes. When you work in an environment that requires such haste, you learn a little about how to prepare for such an occurrence. So, as my mind marvels at how adrenaline can move you so fast, I am strangely reminded of the first Passover.

Exodus 11:11 - This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.

When God's people were instructed to eat the Passover in Egypt, they were told what to eat and how to eat it. The meat needed to be prepared just so, the bread should be unleavened, and they should eat, fully dressed and in a hurry. But, why? Because the day and the time was coming that they would be delivered. They needed to be at the ready, not caught lazy on their heels. As Tom Long once said, if you've got time to wait for bread to rise, you've gotten too comfortable in Egypt. When we gather to eat the meal of the new covenant, the Eucharistic meal, we often remember this meal and this time in our Great Thanksgiving. We remind each other in that meal that God rescued God's people from captivity and that through Jesus Christ we are all made free, delivered from sin and death.

We, as Christians, no longer keep the tradition of Passover and the time of preparation for Passover, but sometimes I wonder if we don't lose something. In Christ, we understand that the once and final sacrifice is complete and the Passover is no longer needed, but sometimes it seems as though we've gotten too comfortable "in Egypt." A couple of weeks ago, I was reading a commentary on the Parable of the Unjust Judge from Luke's gospel. The story goes that a widow petitioned a judge everyday for justice and he would not grant it until he grew weary of her begging. Jesus notes that even the judge can be swayed so how much more quickly will God respond to our prayers than someone who is unjust. The commentary suggested that we think about whether or not we are praying steadily, constantly, everyday for justice, like the widow, or have we reached some level of comfort with injustice. Are we working for the kingdom of God, preparing for it, praying for it? Or we have we kicked off our shoes and said, don't worry, it'll come someday? I don't know...