Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”
The word maror (מרור) in Hebrew means “bitter herbs” or, simply, “bitterness.” From the moment God instituted the Passover meal, the bitter herbs have been an essential item on the menu. They are a symbol and a tangible reminder of the anguish of slavery.
Consuming a sweet, delectable treat has no power to remind us of hardship, poverty, or tears of pain and distress. In the same manner, constantly eating our fill of savory meals cannot bring us into solidarity with those who go hungry.
Last weekend, I made myself a tasty dinner and enjoyed the luxury of eating it slowly. I had time to enjoy the view outside my kitchen window, casually sipping a red wine made of organic grapes. Wine…the drink that epitomizes comfort and leisure.
Yet, the Israelites did not have the time or the right ingredients to enjoy their first Passover meal. God instructed them to wear their sandals while they ate; they became a people ready at any time for escape, for exodus.
While meditating on the Israelites’ first Passover meal, let us pray for those who go without food and are denied the opportunity to eat in peace.
Victims of human trafficking and war, runaways, the homeless, transient populations, and the displaced still endure the bitterness of slavery, of darkness, of uncertainty, just as the Israelites did so long ago under Egyptian authority. They, too, wear their sandals during meals, bags packed, staff in hand, ready for flight at any time.
-Rachael Griggs