Today, after worship, we are celebrating the Passover with a Seder Meal. The Festival of the Passover is mainly thought of as a Jewish celebration these days. The secular world hasn't gotten a hold of it yet. You won't see the Passover aisle at Smith's or Walgreen's full of matzah and the six symbolic items for the Passover plate. There won't be blow up Elijah dolls decorating the lawns of your neighbors.
     Even Christians rarely give this holiday a second thought when we glance at it on our calendars around springtime every year. Yet, it is our story, too. The Festival of the Passover is a retelling of the great story of the Exodus - of how God brought God's people out of slavery in Egypt to their own promised land. It's part of our Holy Scriptures - part of the history of Jews and Christians alike. And it is directly connected to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and the gift of Holy Communion that we receive Sunday after Sunday in this place.
     As God called Moses to lead the people out of their slavery, Moses came up against a heard-hearted Pharaoh. God sent plague after plague to wear Pharaoh down, but he stood firm. Pharaoh's heard-heartedness caused God to have to take the extreme measure you heard about in the first reading today. Remember, God had Moses instruct all the elders of Israel to select and kill the Passover lamb and put the blood on the lintel and doorposts of their houses.
     That night, the Lord passed through Egypt, passing over all the houses marked with the blood of the Passover lamb, but killing the first born in the houses not marked - the houses of the Egyptians. After this night, Pharaoh allowed Moses and the people of Israel to leave. What followed were their 40 years in the wilderness before they were able to enter their promised land. What followed were thousands of years of annual celebrations of the Passover, in remembrance of what God had done for God's people.
      As Jesus gathered with his disciples for his last supper before his death, he was celebrating the Passover. His disciples didn't know - they couldn't understand - the full extent of Jesus' ministry. But, Jesus did. Jesus knew that God had sent him to be the final Passover Lamb. Jesus knew that his blood was meant to mark the hearts of all of God's people so that we might be saved. So, he went to the cross, willingly. Sacrificially. And he rose again on the third day - passing over from death to life.
     Because of what Jesus did on the cross, ultimate death passes over us     . His death guarantees our eternal life. His sacrifice offers us complete forgiveness of all of our sins. As we share the bread and wine of Holy Communion every Sunday, we remember Jesus, our Passover Lamb. More than that, we consume him and the promises of eternal life and forgiveness that he so freely has given to us.
     As we connect Jesus' story to the story of the Passover and the story of the Exodus in the Old Testament, one thing that is overwhelming is God's presence throughout time and place. We see that God's work is always full of grace. We see that God's work is always full of opportunity after opportunity to do the right thing. We see that God's work is always to bring freedom. We see that God's work is always to save. God never gives up on God's people.
     The people of Israel grumbled in the wilderness. They made idols of gold when Moses was away too long on Mt. Sinai. But, God never left them. God may have gotten angry, but God never left them. We grumble in our own way today. We turn away from God and allow a whole lot of things - idols - become number one in our lives. But God never leaves us either. In fact, God just continues to give more and more and more.
     There's a part of the Seder Meal when we sing a song called, "Dayaynu". It's a Hebrew word that means, "It would have been enough." The Dayaynu song is a series of 15 stanzas that make it apparent that God never stops when it comes to giving to God's people. You'll hear it again later if you're attending the Seder Meal, but I want you to hear these words now as well. I'll speak the verses and after each one, your response is "dayaynu."

If God had just taken us out of Egypt, and not punished the Egyptians, Dayaynu.
If God had just punished them, and not destroyed their idols, Dayanu.
If God had just destroyed their idols, but not killed their first born, Dayaynu.
If God had just killed their first born, but not given us their wealth, Dayaynu.
If God had just given us their wealth, but not split the sea, Dayaynu.
If God had just split the sea, but not brought us across it on dry land, Dayaynu.
If God had just brought us across the sea on dry land, but not drowned our enemies, Dayaynu.
If God had just drowned our enemies, but not sustained us in the desert for forty years, Dayaynu.
If God had just sustained us in the desert for forty years, but not fed us manna, Dayaynu.
If God had just fed us manna, but not given us the Sabbath, Dayaynu.
If God had just given us the Sabbath, but not brought us to Mt. Sinai, Dayaynu.
If God had just brought us to Mt. Sinai, but not given us Torah, Dayaynu.
If God had just given us Torah, but not brought us into the land of Israel, Dayaynu.
If God had just brought us into the land of Israel, but not built the Temple, Dayaynu.

"Dayaynu. It would have been enough." As Christian people, we can add more stanzas to this song. Again, I'll speak the verses and after each one, your response is "dayaynu".
If God had just built the Temple, but not sent Jesus, Dayaynu.
If God had just sent Jesus, but not had him die on the cross, Dayaynu.
If God had just had him die on the cross, but not raised him from the dead, Dayaynu.
If God had just raised him from the dead, but not had him appear to his disciples, Dayaynu.
If God had just had him appear to his disciples, but not sent the Holy Spirit to be with us always, Dayaynu.
    
     Dayaynu. It would have been enough. This is a word that asks us to remember that God never stops giving to God's people. God's grace is unending. God's love is unending. God's presence is unending. This is a word that calls us to a deep sense of gratitude. For all that God has done. For all that God will do. For all that God is doing right now. Amen.