Can you imagine what it was like to be the Israelites on the night of that first Passover? These instructions had been given. They did exactly what God had told them to do. On the 14th day of the month, in the evening, they sacrificed the lamb, collected its blood, and with a bunch of hyssop they painted the blood onto the door frame of their home. Then they eat, and while they eat, they wait. They eat with their cloak tucked into their belt, their sandals on their feet, and their staff in their hand. They eat in haste, ready to go, but while they eat, they wait. What were they waiting for? They were waiting for the LORD to pass through the land. And while they waited, what confidence did they have that they would be spared and soon leaving the land of Egypt? They had the promise of God. They had the promise that the LORD would see the blood and pass over them. They had the promise that the LORD would see the blood and not allow the destroyer to enter their house. They held onto that promise, and then they waited. They waited for the LORD to keep his promise! 

Tonight, we rethink what the promises made to us, by our God, in the sacrament of Holy Communion really mean for us.