Prejudice In The Merchant Of Venice Essay

, Research Paper

Essay: The Differences and Similarities Between Passover and The Eucharist

To explain the differences and similarities between the Hebrew Passover and the Christian Eucharist we must first compare and research.. The Eucharist is the blessed sacrament in which our Lord, Jesus Christ is truly present under the bread (his body), and the wine (his blood). It differs from Passover in that the Passover has been a well known tradition for many years to the Jewish Community, while the Sacrament of the Eucharist was taken from the basic elements of the Jewish tradition and modified into a Christian law or theory. Christians see in the Passover meal a prefigurement of Jesus Last Supper, his sacrifice on the cross, and the eucharist.The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation to our faith. Those who have been raised to the dignity of royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord s own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist through the Sacrament of Communion God cleanses us free of sin, which is like the offerings brought upon the Lord during Passover. The unleavened bread in Passover is like the host that is consecrated to Christians during Communion. The Holy unleavened bread (host) and wine remind us of Jesus Passover. For the Christian community, the eucharist is a sign of God s love, faith, and care for his people. In conclusion, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn con firms our way of thinking.”

Passover is an ancient Hebrew tradition that is celebrated with a Seder, or ritual meal. The meal consists of the Shankbone of a lamb that symbolizes the sacrifice of the lamb: bitter herbs that symbolize the hardships that the Jews suffered in slavery: a bowl of salted water that signifies the tears of the slaves: and a sweet mush of apples nuts and raisins is symbolic of the mortar that the Israelites mixed to carry out the Pharaoh s labors. Probably the most recognizable food that belongs to the Seder is the unleavened bread, which as you recall is the host in communion, symbolizes the slaves departure from Egypt. The father of the household carries out the sacred prayers and blessings. The feast of Passover begins on the 14th day of Nisan. The Jew s of today, like the Jew s of ancient times, make important preparations for this festival. Every house is going through spring cleaning. In the age of the Church, Sunday was the truth of the Jewish Sabbath that announced man s eternal rest in God. For Worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but Lord s Day, in which our live is blessed by Him and by His death.The story of Eucharist is a story where God sent his only begotten son our Lord, Jesus Christ to earth to save us from the evil of sin. Jesus introduced us to Communion in the Last Supper when He said “this is my body, the body which will be given up for the ever lasting covenant and will be shared with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever”. In this story God sent Jesus to proclaim His word and act as the sacrificial lamb.In the story of the Passover God again sent someone, He sent Moses to proclaim His word. When the Pharaoh did not respond to the demands of the Lord, He sent the Angel of Death to Egypt to sweep down upon the houses of every person to kill the first born in the family. However the Jew s were protected by lambs blood that had been smeared on the posts of the home. Inside the home the Passover would continue.These two stories have some similarities, one is that God sent messengers both times: Jesus being the messenger in the Eucharist story and Moses being the messenger in the Passover story. There is also another similarity: there was a sacrificial lamb in both stories: Jesus acting as the lamb when he was crucified to be given up to the power of the Holy Spirit and the lamb that was split open and its blood smothered on the posts of the home, it acted as a sacrifice because his life was given up to protect the first born of the Jewish family.