21 March 2021

Sunday intercessions on
21 March 2021,
Fifth Sunday in Lent,
Passion Sunday

‘Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow’ (Psalm 51: 7) … snow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Let us pray:

‘Now is the judgement of this world’ (John 12:31):

Heavenly Father,
on Passion Sunday,
we give thanks for all who are driven by passion,
to love this earth, to seek justice and
to bring about change where it is needed.

We pray for all who defend democracy and human rights,
including those in our police, and in our courts,
all who stand against racism, prejudice and oppression,
for all nations torn and divided by war and strife,
and we pray for all peacemakers …

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’ (John 12: 21):

Lord Jesus Christ,
we pray for the Church,
that we may love one another and nurture one another,
and have passion for ministering the Sacraments and preaching the Gospel.

We pray for our neighbouring churches and parishes
in Co Limerick and Co Kerry,
that we may be blessed in their variety and diversity.

We pray for all taking part in the diocesan Lenten study course
on Anglican mission on Tuesday evenings.

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer this week,
we pray for the Church of England, and
and the Most Revd Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury.

In the Church of Ireland this month,
we pray for the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe
and Bishop Andrew Forster.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer this week,
we pray for the Kilcolman Union of parishes,
the Revd Isabel Stuart, the Revd Ann-Marie Keegan,
and the congregations of Saint Michael’s Church, Killorglin,
and Saint Carthage’s Church, Castlemaine.

We pray too for local churches of other traditions,
their priests and ministers and their congregations.

We pray for our own parishes and people,
for our schools as they gradually reopen,
for our select vestries as they meet this week,
and we pray for ourselves …

Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy.

‘Make me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me’ (Psalm 51: 11):

Holy Spirit,
we pray for one another and for ourselves,
we pray those we love and those who love us,
we pray for family, friends and neighbours,
and we pray for those we promised to pray for.

We pray for Sarah and Brian …

We pray for those in need and those who seek healing …
for those working for healing …
for those waiting for healing …
for those seeking an end to this Covid crisis …

We pray for those who are sick or isolated,
at home or in hospital …

Una … Ann … Daphne … Sylvia … Ajay …
Ena … George … Louise …

We pray for those we have offered to pray for …
and we pray for those who pray for us …

We pray for all who grieve and mourn at this time …
for Joey, Kenneth, Victor, and their families …
for Pat and Daphne and their families …

We remember and give thanks for those who have died …
especially for Linda Smyth … Eileen …
and for those whose anniversaries are at this time …
May their memories be a blessing to us …

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

A prayer from the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) on the Fifth Sunday in Lent:

God of justice and peace,
You have made us equal and we are precious in your sight.
Help us to pray and work without ceasing
for a world free of racism, prejudice, and oppression.

Merciful Father …

‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’ … a carving of Saint Philip on the pulpit in Saint Philip’s Church, Leicester (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

These intercessions were prepared for use in the Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes on Sunday 21 March 2021, the Fifth Sunday in Lent



When we want to
pose for our own
‘selfies’ with Jesus

‘Some Greeks came to Philip … and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’ (John 12: 20-21) … the Monument of Alexander the Great in Thessaloniki, looking out towards Mount Olympus (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday next 21 March 2021

The Fifth Sunday in Lent (Passion Sunday)

10 a.m.:
the Parish Eucharist

The Readings: Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Psalm 51: 1-13; John 12: 20-33

There is a link to these readings HERE.

‘But this is the covenant that I will make … and I will write it on their hearts’ (Jeremiah 31: 33) … hearts decorating a bar in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

One Easter morning, when all the great Greek excitement of Easter was over – the processions, the parades, the late-night services, the bands and the street crowds – we enjoyed the calm and peace of the morning, and we walked the length of the seafront in Thessaloniki.

After all the solemnity and excitement is over, after the Lenten fasts have come to an end, no-one in Greece stirs outside their family home on Easter morning. It almost felt like we had the seafront to ourselves as we walked from the harbour to the landmark White Tower and on to the monumental sculpture of Alexander the Great.

The White Tower is a mixture of Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman work. It was a prison and a place of massacre, and it was once known as the Red Tower, because of the blood splattered on the walls of the countless victims of torture and execution. After Thessaloniki was incorporated into the modern Greek state, the tower was whitewashed in a symbolic gesture of cleansing.

As this morning’s psalm says, ‘Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow’ (Psalm 51: 10).

From there, we walked on to the Monument of Alexander the Great at Nea Paralia. This is a tall sculpture, six metres tall, by the artist Evangelos Moustakas, and shows Alexander the Great on his horse Voukefalas (Bucephalus).

Thessaloniki is proud that it is the city of both Aristotle and Alexander the Great. At one time, Alexander the Great was so powerful and his empire so expansive that to many Greeks he seemed to be the ruler of the world (see John 12: 31). And every Greek knows Alexander the Great was the son of Philip of Macedon.

In this morning’s Gospel reading, some Greeks are in Jerusalem for the Festival – the Festival of Passover, which begins next Saturday night (27 March) for this year, and which for Christians becomes Easter. These Greeks, we are told, wish to see Jesus; so, it is only natural that they should go to Philip and ask him to help them get through the crowds to see Jesus.

Every Greek would have expected that someone with the name Philip would speak Greek. Finding Philip in the crowd must have been like finding your local TD outside the Dáil and asking him to bring you into Leinster House to meet the Taoiseach.

Philip thinks about what to do. But instead of going to Jesus, he goes to Andrew, who is yet another disciple with a Greek name. Perhaps those Greek visitors, those Greek pilgrims or tourists, think they are in with the in-crowd. They have found not one, but two Greek-speakers among the disciples.

But the story is bewildering. We are not told whether they ever get to see Jesus.

Are they simply looking for the first century equivalent of a ‘selfie’ – wanting not so much to see Jesus but to be seen with Jesus, without listening to Jesus, still less without the commitment involved in following Jesus?

Do they hear his call, ‘follow me’ (John 12: 26)?

In this Gospel reading, we are in the days before Palm Sunday, and the days before Passover. The Sabbath immediately preceding Passover is known as Shabbat haGadol (שבת הגדול), the ‘Great Sabbath.’ This year, this Sabbath falls next Saturday (27 March 2021.) The haftarah or prophetic portion read on that Sabbath (Malachi 3: 4-24) speaks of the ‘great day’ of God on which the Messiah will appear.

Malachi is an anonymous prophet – the name Malachi simply means ‘my messenger.’ But in this passage, he also says:

You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts? Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape’ (Malachi 3: 14-15).

Whether that portion had already become established as a reading by the time Saint John’s Gospel was written, the Sabbath before the Passover was already one that was imbued with expectations of the appearance of the Messiah, and the readers of this Gospel, at this stage, would expect to hear Jesus speaking about those who have turned away from serving God.

So Christ reminds those who are listening to him in this Gospel reading that those who love him must serve, and ‘whoever serves me must follow me’ (John 12: 26).

But then, on the other hand, are Philip and Andrew like power brokers? Do they take advantage of their positions to control access to Christ, instead of inviting others to follow Christ?

The mission of Israel was to be a light to the gentiles. But in questioning, doubting – perhaps even denying – that those Greeks should have access to Christ too, are Philip and Andrew denying the mission and purpose of their own people, the reason they are freed at Passover from slavery in Egypt?

Are they, perhaps, denying the mission and witness of Christ, the inclusivity of Christ?

Do they behave as if Christ is only for them, their culture, their people, and not for all, irrespective of cultural or ethnic origins, language, background or gender?

In the second part of this Gospel story, we are pointed not just to the Cross, but to the resurrection. This is not just a story for Lent, but a story filled with the Easter promise of the Resurrection.

In the long run, the conclusion to this story is found in the experience of Greeks visiting Jerusalem after the Resurrection, just 50 days later, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on devout people of every nation, and the disciples find they are heard by each one present in their own language.

It becomes a foundational experience for the Church.

Saint Paul finds it so transforming that he reminds his readers: ‘There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ’ (Galatians 3: 28).

Am I like Philip and Andrew, too comfortable with a Christ who fits my own cultural comforts, my own demands and expectations?

Do I all to easily lock Christ away in my own ‘churchiness,’ to the point that the stone might never have been rolled away from the tomb on Easter morning?

What prejudices from the past do I use to dress up my image of Christ today?

If Saint Paul is right …. then Christ reaches out too to those who are marginalised in our society because of their gender, sexuality, colour, language or religious background.

In Christ there is no Catholic nor Protestant, no male and female, no black and white, no gay and straight.

And every time I reduce Christ to my own comfortable categories I keep him behind that stone rolled across the tomb.

And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise, honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

‘Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow’ (Psalm 51: 10) … the White Tower has become an emblem of Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 12: 20-33 (NRSVA):

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.

27 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say — “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ 30 Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’ … Saint Philip (left) in a stained-glass window in the chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical colour: Violet.

The canticle Gloria is omitted in Lent.

Penitential Kyries:

Lord God,
you sent your Son to reconcile us to yourself and to one another.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you heal the wounds of sin and division.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
through you we put to death the sins of the body – and live.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect of the Day (Lent V):

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
Grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross,
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lenten Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Introduction to the Peace:

Now in union with Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of Christ's blood; for he is our peace. (Ephesians 2: 17)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who, for the redemption of the world,
humbled himself to death on the cross;
that, being lifted up from the earth,
he might draw all people to himself:

Post Communion Prayer:

God of hope,
in this Eucharist we have tasted
the promise of your heavenly banquet
and the richness of eternal life.
May we who bear witness to the death of your Son,
also proclaim the glory of his resurrection,
for he is Lord for ever and ever.

Blessing:

Christ draw you to himself
and grant that you find in his cross a sure ground for faith,
a firm support for hope,
and the assurance of sins forgiven:

‘Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow’ (Psalm 51: 8) … snow in Cloister Court, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Hymns:

125, Hail to the Lord’s anointed (CD 8)
656, Nearer, my God, to thee (CD 38)

Strolling on the seafront in Thessaloniki, leading to the White Tower (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.



Praying in Lent and Easter 2021:
33, Saint Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy

Saint Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy, Pugin’s ‘Irish Gem’ overlooking the River Slaney in Co Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

During Lent and Easter this year, I am taking some time each morning to reflect in these ways:

1, a photograph of a church or place of worship that has been significant in my spiritual life;

2, the day’s Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel).

Today is the Fifth Sunday in Lent (21 March 2021), sometimes known as Passion Sunday.’ This week I am offering photographs from seven churches that were designed by Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852), the architect singularly responsible for shaping and influencing the Gothic revival in church architecture on these islands.

My photographs this morning (21 March 2021) are from Saint Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.

The cathedral is the largest building in Ireland designed by Pugin, who based his design on the ruins of Tintern Abbey in Wales. Saint Aidan’s is a three-quarter size replica of Tintern, as Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney, is a three-quarter size scale model of Salisbury Cathedral.

The cathedral was built in two phases: the eastern parts were built between June 1843 and June 1846, and the nave and aisles were built between 1846 and 1848. The interior was completed by James Joseph McCarthy (1817-1882).

The names of the Bishops of Ferns, from Saint Aidan in 632 to the present day, include Bishop Edmund Comerford, in Saint Aidan’s Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 12: 20-33 (NRSVA):

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.

27 ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say — “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ 30 Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary:

The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (21 March 2021), the Fifth Sunday in Lent and International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, prays:

God of justice and peace,
You have made us equal and we are precious in your sight.
Help us to pray and work without ceasing
for a world free of racism, prejudice, and oppression.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

Inside Saint Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The oppressed do not need
a reminder at Passover that
the world is profoundly broken

The Four Questions (Ma Nishtanah) from Arthur Szyk’s ‘Haggadah,’ Łódź, 1935

Patrick Comerford

Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Jews from slavery into Egypt, and is holiday that celebrates redemption, resilience, community and regrowth. Faced with today’s global uncertainty, these themes seem especially important to celebrate.

Pesach or Passover this year is being celebrated from sundown next Friday evening [27 April 2021] until sunset on the evening of Sunday 4 April.

The Passover story, with its accounts of slavery, hardship and ten plagues, is particularly poignant this year with the fears and isolation created by the coronavirus and the hope for liberation and freedom.

The traditional Passover Seder or dinner, celebrated in family homes on this evening, includes specific symbolic foods and biblical references to what happened with Moses and Pharaoh before God freed the enslaved Jews more than 3,000 years ago.

The Seder is the most commonly celebrated of all Jewish rituals takes place in much the same way among Jews all over the world.

‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’ … a painting in the Jewish Museum in Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Traditionally, during the meal, the youngest person present asks the Four Questions, Ma Nishtana (מה נשתנה), beginning, ‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’

1, On all other nights we eat either bread or matzah. Why, on this night, do we eat only matzah?

2, On all other nights we eat herbs of any kind. Why, on this night, do we eat only bitter herbs?

3, On all other nights, we do not dip our herbs even once. Why, on this night, do we dip them twice?

4, On all other nights, we eat either sitting or leaning. Why, on this night, do we eat while leaning?

The questions are answered in this way:

1, We eat only matzah because our ancestors could not wait for their breads to rise when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt, and so they were flat when they came out of the oven.

2, We eat only maror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt.

3, The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of our tears with gratitude, and the second dip, maror in charoses, symbolises the sweetening of our burden of bitterness and suffering.

4,We recline at the Seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal was a free person, while slaves and servants stood.

But this year and last year have been different from all other years: Jewish mourners cannot form a minyan, or quorum of 10 adults required for saying kaddish, a prayer in honour of the dead, because of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

And once again, this night is different from all other nights in another way, for Jewish families all over the world are wrestling with how to celebrate Passover in the midst of this lockdown.

Traditionally, Passover has been the one time of the year when people expect to see or visit their whole extended family. But even video calls and streaming on Zoom and other social media platforms have proved difficult for Jews in traditions where using electricity on Shabbat and other Jewish holidays is rejected. However, some prominent groups of Orthodox and Conservative rabbis in the US who have approved the use of video chat just for this year, as with last year’s exception.

In addition, because food supplies and shopping trips have been limited for over a year now, some people are suggesting replacing the a shankbone with a roasted carrot – long the practice of Jewish vegetarians. But how many supermarkets are selling matzo?

It is no consolation to remind families that the very first Seder meal was celebrated in hiding, by families locked away in their own homes, full of fear in the dark of night.

Families have also been missing the day sof bustle before the Seder, with people: crowding into the kitchen, laying out tables, lighting candles, opening wine bottles, turning over the pages of colourfully illustrated Haggadot, preparing to play their parts.

The meal begins with blessings and the first cups of wine (קדש, kadesih), followed by the traditions surrounding handwashing (ורחץ, urchatz). In Judaism, washing hands is a sacred ritual. The Torah has many references to the priests washing their hands during ritual sacrifices, and in Jewish law washing hands with a blessing is an obligation before eating.

Of course, these rituals were developed centuries before modern medicine prescribed handwashing for protection against germs and infection. The global pandemic has made handwashing sacred on another level, for it is one of the most basic things everyone can do to ensure the well-being of the community.

The Jewish principle known as pikuach nefesh (פיקוח נפש) rules that saving life is paramount, and this precept supersedes all other commandments. Politicians surely need to agree that saving lives is always more important than saving an economy. Washing hands before continuing with the Seder has become a life-enhancing observance.

A traditional Seder plate in the Jewish Museum in Bratislava (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Seder (סֵדֶר) literally means ‘order’ and the sequence is the same from year to year: sanctifying the wine, washing hands, dipping the karpas or bitter herb, breaking the middle matzoh, telling the Exodus story, the invitation, the Four Questions, and so on.

Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, eating symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom.

Eating matzah is a reminder that the fleeing slaves did not have enough time to let their bread dough rise when they left Egypt. However, when you think about it, as Rabbi Brant Rosen points out on his blog, there is nothing hasty about making matzah.

Baking unleavened bread is a process that demands great care and attention. Tradition says matzah dough must be baked no more than 18 minutes after the exposure of cut grain to moisture. If left to sit longer, airborne yeast bacteria will interact with the sugar molecules in the flour mixture and multiply by the billions. The yeast microorganisms will then release carbon dioxide gas that causes the dough to ferment.

This complex process illustrates how during a time of pandemic, we must follow very specific protocols to lessen the chances of contracting and spreading viral infection. Care in our personal behaviour is important because it has a direct impact on the greater good. Eating matzah on this Passover may remind many the sacred discipline required of each of us to ensure our mutual well-being and survival.

There is an obligation to drink four cups of wine during the Seder. The Mishnah says (Pesachim 10: 1) that even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The first is for Kiddush (קידוש), the second is for Maggid (מגיד), the third for Birkat Hamazon (ברכת המזון) and the fourth for Hallel (הלל).

The Four Cups represent God’s four promises of deliverance given to people as they are being liberated: ‘I will free you,’ ‘I will deliver you,’ ‘I will redeem you’ and ‘I will take you as my people’ (see Exodus 6: 6-7).

A traditional Seder plate in the Jewish Museum in Bratislava (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Seder plate (קערה, ke’are) contains symbolic foods, with each of the six items arranged on the plate to convey special significance in the Exodus story. The six items on the Seder plate are:

Maror: bitter herb symbolises the bitterness and harshness of slavery in Egypt; many people use freshly grated horseradish or whole horseradish root.

Chazeret: romaine lettuce, whose roots are bitter-tasting; sometimes green onions, celery leaves, or parsley are used, with traditions varying among Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi, Persian and other traditions.

Charoset: a sweet, brown, pebbly paste of fruits and nuts, representing the mortar used by Jewish slaves to build storehouses in Egypt; Ashkenazim traditionally make apple-raisin based charoset, Sephardim often make date-based recipes that include orange, lemon or even banana.

Karpas: a vegetable other than bitter herbs, usually parsley but sometimes celery or cooked potato, dipped into salt water (Ashkenazim) or vinegar (Sephardim) at the beginning of the Seder.

Zeroa: a roasted lamb bone, symbolising the korban Pesach or Passover sacrifice).

Beitzah: a roast egg, usually a hard-boiled egg, symbolising the korban chagigah or festival sacrifice.

The seventh symbolic item during the meal – a stack of three matzot, symbolising ‘the bread of affliction’ – is placed on its own plate on the Seder table.

Jewish children learn the words, denoting the order of the Seder, with a rhyme and tune: Kaddesh (קדש). Urchatz (ורחץ). Karpas (כרפס). Yachatz (יחץ). Maggid (מגיד). Rachtzah (רחצה). Motzi Matzah (מוציא מצה). Maror (מרור). Korech (כורך). Shulchan Orech (שלחן עורך). Tzafun (צפון). Barech (ברך). Hallel (הלל). Nirtzah (נרצה).

The Cup of Elijah in the Jewish Museum in Bratislava (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The traditional singing includes Dayenu (דַּיֵּנוּ), ‘It would have been enough,’ a rousing song that expresses gratitude to God for leading the Jewish slaves in ancient Egypt out of bondage and for the 15 gifts he has given, concluding with the Shabbat, Mount Sinai, the Torah, the Promised Land and the Temple. The door is opened to welcome Elijah, and then all rush in for the children to see whether Elijah drank from Elijah’s cup.

An important function of the Seder is handing on the story from one generation to the next. It recalls a night when families and households took refuge in their homes because of an invisible, deadly force that raged outside.

During the Holocaust and the decades that followed, the previous generation added Hitler and the Nazis to the list of plagues.

The Four Questions (Ma Nishtanah) in a page from Arthur Szyk’s ‘Haggadah,’ Łódź, 1935

The Polish-American artist Arthur Szyk (1894-1951), whose work I was introduced to during a visit to the Jewish East End in London last year (2020), originally intended his Passover story of persecution and deliverance, told through the traditional text of the Haggadah, to be a strong statement against the Nazis.

However, no publisher in his native Poland dared to take on a project with strong anti-Nazi iconography. Eventually, he found a publisher in England.

His page with the Hebrew text of the Four Questions has an illustration showing an older bearded man listening as a young boy asks the traditional ‘Four Questions’ of the Seder.

In the top right corner is a red snake – understood to be Nazism – coiled as if ready to strike. The illustration is framed by a Hebrew letter מ (mem). In the upper left corner, there is a small letter ה (he), which completes the word Ma (מַה), the first word in the Hebrew text.

This year, like last year, this will be a Pesach like no others. People will sing traditional songs with traditional tunes remembered from childhood. But, just as a previous generation added Hitler and the Nazis to the list of plagues, the coronavirus will be added to the list of plagues in many homes this evening.

In a recent blog posting, Rabbi Brant Rosen writes: ‘When disasters such as pandemics occur, it can feel as if the world has been suddenly, brutally shattered. In truth, however, it is generally those with privilege and power who tend to react this way. Those who are oppressed or disenfranchised don’t need a disaster to remind them that the world has long been profoundly broken. Still, history has repeatedly demonstrated that when these fissures and cracks are ignored, they will inevitably spread to affect those who previously considered themselves invulnerable.’

In my night prayers, I often use the 'Prayers Before Sleep at Night’ in the Authorised Daily Prayer Book, which includes Psalm 91 among the night prayers:

He will save you … from the deadly pestilence.
With his pinions he will cover you,
and beneath his wings you will find shelter;

You need not fear terror by night,
nor the arrow that flies by day;
not the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the plague that ravages at noon. (Psalm 91: 3-6)

As in years before, this evening’s meals will end with the acclamation, ‘Next year in Jerusalem!’ It recognises that we live in an imperfect world this year, but we hope for more than a temporal city, we hope for a future of peace, prosperity and freedom.

Yet once again, Passover this year – like so many years in the past – is a reminder that we should never take our freedoms for granted. And it is a reminder too that we are not going to live in fear for ever.

‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’ … the Four Questions (Ma Nishtanah) in a page from Arthur Szyk’s ‘Haggadah,’ Łódź, 1935