Easter planning

Have you ever been responsible for planning a banquet? My first banquet planning experience came from working on the Blue and Gold banquets when my boys were in Cub Scouts. Later I found experience working on church and various organization banquets. My final experience was as Director of Student Services at Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles where as Student Services Director, I planned 3 luncheon banquets a year for graduates. The first task was always finding a location that was convenient and affordable. Planning was done quite awhile in advance, sometimes as much as a year or more to secure the right place.

Just like tonight, the annual Passover was being celebrated in Jerusalem. It was especially important to Jesus and the disciples to participate in this time of praising God for allowing the death angel to pass over Israel's first born sons when the final blow to the Egyptians who held the Israelites in slavery was to be delivered. Jesus was the consummate planner and had things under control. He knew that this would be his last supper with these special friends and followers and therefore wanted it to be just right.

" And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover." Mark 14:12-16

Jesus time is not like ours. He didn't need a year to plan his special banquet. He knew time was short. How do we respond knowing our time is short as we plan our Easter celebration? Is Passover included?