John 21 tells of the eighth miracle of Jesus. This miracle, a great catch of fish happened after Jesus resurrection and was a sign of new beginnings. Jesus reinstated Peter and told him: “Feed my sheep.”
Exodus 12 tells of how God instituted the Passover. The name comes from the action of the night the angel of death came to kill every firstborn in Egypt; if he saw the blood of the pascal lamb om the doorposts and the lentil of the house, he would pass over that house. The chapter is fantastic, read it and marvel!
In Exodus 13 the feast of unleavened bread is defined and the consecrating of the firstborn to the LORD. The Hebrews have escaped from Egypt, and a proposed route is suggested.
We are in the middle of the battle of the centuries, and it is spiritual. Bear with me as I try to explain. Jesus asked Peter 3 times : Do you love me?; the first 2 times using agape (Gods love) and the third time using brotherly love, and every time Peter answered positively with brotherly love. Jesus then says “Feed my sheep”, but Peter answered “What about John”? and Jesus answered “What is that to thee, follow thou me”. Peter then understood that all authority was still Christs, and they were to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Under heavy persecution Christianity grew rapidly, and in 313 A.D. Emperor Constantine declared Christianity protected. This meant that a lot of people became Christians in name only, and to solidify Christian beliefs the Apostles’ creed was formalized in 325 A.D. establishing our belief i God the Father, God the Son and God, the Holy spirit, and Christ’s return and final judgement. Many kept their old beliefs and added Christianity to advance in society. With people in power and authority with little or no knowledge of Christ there was a period of anarchy and strife in the papacy. The Umayyad caliphate had just arisen ande declared the triune God blasphemy, only Allah, and waged war to conquer. Out of this arose Pope Leo III a byzantine from the Eastern brench of the Catholic church. He was declared Pope in 795 A.D. and in 800 A.D. Crowned emperor Charlemagne on Christmas Day in 800, thereby initiating what would become the Holy Roman Empire, which certainly wasn’t holy, nor was it Roman or even very much of an empire. Which brings us to today when Pope Leo XIV seems to undo many of the traditions that sought to cement the Papacy as a worldly power, such as the infallability of the Pope when he speaks “Ex Cathedra”. There are many old traditions going by the wayside. Time will tell if it is a restoration to original Christianity or just another upheaval in the Roman Catholic Church.
Meanwhile, every Passover Seder ends with “Next year in Jerusalem”
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 