Maundy Thursday: Remember

Devotion by: Bill Wagner

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 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. 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. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. 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. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 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. 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 judgements: I am the LORD. 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.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

This passage describes the instructions to the Israelites about how they are to celebrate the Passover, when the Lord spared them from the destruction of all first-born male children in Egypt. They are told to celebrate this event in remembrance of how the Lord spared them.

In my own life, I know I have been spared several times. The most recent was in June 2005 when I was involved in a very serious car accident that totally destroyed the car I was in. At the moment of impact, I can remember seeing the other car hitting the passenger side of my car and the glass beginning to fly in toward me. My last thought was that “this was not a very good way to end things”. The next thing I knew, the car came to rest, glass scattered everywhere and my only injuries were some small cuts on my hands.

I remember that moment frequently and know that I was given another chance to serve in whatever capacity the Lord would direct me. Since then, I have been blessed with the chance to give leadership to a relatively new, developing veterinary school at St. Matthew’s University in the Cayman Islands. This opportunity came after two other, much more likely professional opportunities did not materialize as I had hoped. We need to remember, when He closes one door, there is always another one opening. When we think we know the plan, we usually become too arrogant and fail to see the possibilities that the Lord is putting in front of us. We need to remember that He is there for us and has a plan for our life that will be best for each of us.

PRAYER: Gracious God, help us to remember how you have been there for us in our times of need, and also remember that You are the one with the best plan for us. Amen.