Thiruvananthapuram: Our Archbishop Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Bawa, our archdiocese, has said that our God is not one who passes but is present with us. He was delivering a message during the Passover rituals this morning in the chapel of Major Archbishop of Pattom. We are calling on the followers to accept the Holy Eucharist by preparing the example of the disciples of Jesus.
The Passover feast has two parts. The Passover in the New Testament, which is a continuation of the Old Testament, is a memory and experience for God’s elect. This is the event and the experience that God revealed to Israel in the Old Testament Passover. A God who sheds tears for the children of Israel who have been in the midst of hardship. So the Passover observance was not just a memorial but a command to them. The Passover observance and the sprinkling of blood on the doorposts were the identifying mark of the house of the children of Israel as the Messenger of God passed by. God is merciful and faithful. He revealed His faithfulness by giving the children of Israel manna and quail, hunger, day by day pillars of cloud and night pillars, and by dividing the Red Sea. It was a sign of the merciful God who was with the weak.
The Passover in the New Testament is an example for us to wash our feet with Jesus. He has given us the example of repentance and is asking us to accept Holy Communion in preparation for it. He established the Holy Eucharist for the sinless, commanding the sinners to eat their own bodies and blood for eternal life. The Cardinal reminded us that He is not a passer, but a God who dwells in us and dwells with us.
