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They ate their lamb standing up, their robes tucked into their belts.

They stood as they ate, trusting that God would keep his promise, ready to leave at a moment’s notice to head toward freedom.

They trusted and obeyed, and so they remained standing up, their staffs in their hands, as they ate their lamb.

That lamb who had saved their oldest child, that lamb whose blood was painted around their doors, that lamb whose life was substituted for a human life,

that same lamb would now give them what they needed for their journey.

That lamb, as they ate, gave them sustenance for their journey. That lamb was their food at the start of their decades-long journey across a wilderness. They partook of that lamb before they took a first step, a first step of obedience toward a Promised Land.

That lamb which gave them life also gave them strength, and courage, perhaps, too, as they stood ready to take the first steps toward a Land they could not yet see.

Life, sustenance, strength, courage.

And it all began with a lamb.

We eat our Lamb every week, gathered together with family.

We gather with family, trusting that God will keep his promises, ready to serve and care for each other at a moment’s notice, ready to love.

We trust and we obey, and so we gather together and eat of the Lamb each week.

That Lamb who saved us, that Lamb whose blood was shed for us, that Lamb whose life was substituted for ours,

that same Lamb now gives us what we need for our journey.

This Lamb, as we eat, gives us sustenance for our journey. This Lamb is our food and drink at the beginning of each week in our decades-long journey across the wilderness of our life here on earth. We partake of this Lamb before we take a first step into our week, a first step of obedience through our life toward a Promised Land.

This Lamb who gives us life also gives us supernatural power, and courage, perhaps, too, as we take Him into ourselves and abide in Him, as He through His Spirit abides in us, as we stand ready to take the first steps toward a Land we cannot yet see.

Life, sustenance, power, courage.

And it all began with a lamb.

Art credits: stained glass in Saint Peter and Paul parish church; Eucharist photo by John Snyder